Armored Core NEVER END
by Emerald Sonata
Summary: All is forsaken. ORCA and Wynne D. Fanchon are defeated. The resources for the Cradles are dwindling. The League’s goal has shifted onto a new path of chaos. Five peculiar Lynxs will band as one to protect their fallen world. ‘Reclaim what was once lost’
1. Heart of Mary

_**All **_**Armored Core for Answer**_** base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**_

_**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata. **_

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END  
****Mission 01 || [Heart of Mary]**

A crimson 03-AALIYAH NEXT dropped down from the sky. Its deadly talon-like feet touched down across the thick sands, erupting dust around its presence. From the shock of landing the giant machine of destruction straightened its iron spine, its head's LED visor-screen burning bright orange. The red NEXT turned its conical head left and right, searching through the deserted grounds of sand and remnants of Old Peace City.

It held out its left and right arms, bearing a 047ANNR rectangular rifle and a SG-O700 crossbow-like shotgun. Across its back were two identical tri-barrel DEARBORN03 VTF missiles and its shoulders had additional NEMAHA01 vertical-launch retaliation-missiles.

Anton Berdose* stretched a wide and haughty grin. His eyes narrowed, expecting a worthy challenge as he examined the core's HUD; his heads-up display and main screen. His NEXT, _Red Faction*_, was steady with a calm and excited air, but held its main guns at the ready.

"Come out, come out, little mousy…" chuckled Anton. He twisted the controls around, shifting _Red Faction_ to turn behind it. Guns levelled again, ready to take on anything, "There's no use in hiding…besides…" His eyes glanced up to his radar, showing a detailed 3D map of the surrounding area. It had a wide range of sight, picking up a blinking red dot that was 6 o'clock from his current position. A deadlier smile of triumph widened, "I've got you all figured out."

The lips of a feminine face stretched softly, merely laughing under her breath. Inside her dark and humming core, she raised an index finger and hit a nearby switch across her console.

Anton's eyes widen. His radar's imaging sparkled with distortion. Soon it was hazed with opaque static, "Blast…ECMs," He turned his view straight back at the main HUD, his hands gripping his core's controls tightly, "I won't let you get the better of me, mousy!"

"Time to fly, _Queen's Mercy*_," said the female lips. Behind the _Red Faction_, a ghostly green flash zipped out from behind a nearby building. The _Red Faction_ sensed it and spun around.

"No you don't!" howled Anton. Rifle shots barked into the air as the _Red Faction_ fired as mad as its Lynx. Bullets soared but harmlessly skimmed passed the green flash, moving at a tremendous speed. Anton grimaced as he switched weapons, "Tch…" His NEXT's arms lowered and his missiles were raised over is shoulder. Without waiting, he sent off a flashing volley of missiles. They climbed up in an arc and instantly descended in pursuit of their target.

The green flash disappeared behind another building, just as the missile struck a mighty blow. Its structures collapsed like ancient mud bricks, raining shattered debris on the spot. Anton smirked under his breath and Boosted the _Red Faction_ forward for another attack. A figure burst out from the cloud of debris, a massive flare of ghostly green light burning wildly from the back of its core, "What the – Overboost?! Rah!" He threw his body to one side, as if to avoid the incoming projectile from within his seat. Following, the _Red Faction_ Quick-Boosted to the right and avoided the lightning fast figure just in time. It spun around to face its agile opponent.

A dark violet and blue Telus modeled NEXT spun around in a 180 degree turn, its thick bulbous legs skidding backwards across the sands. Its eye flashed bright yellow as it raised its two weapons; a GAN01-SS-WGP Gatling gun attached to its right fore-arm and an ER-O705 railgun-like laser rifle in its left hand. A jet-finned RD03-PANDORA radar was attached as its back-left weapon and its shoulders were armed with AR-O401 electronic countermeasures. Folded over its right shoulder was a HLC02-SIRIUS hi-laser cannon. It charged up and lashed out a devastating energy round straight into the _Red Faction_'s chest. It pierced right through the crimson NEXT's Primal Armor and struck home against the left side of its core.

"HEY!" growled Anton, heavily rattled in his seat. The _Red Faction_ stumbled backwards, but quickly regained its footing by Boosting in reverse for a temporary retreat.

'_[_Red Faction_'s AP is down 40%!]'_ crackled another female voice within the Telus' radio system, _'[Keep at it and hit him hard!]'_. The Lynx of the violet Telus returned a cheerful and focused nod.

"Got it!" she called back, "After him, _Queen's Mercy_!" The Telus, dubbed the _Queen's Mercy_, shot off with a Quick-Boost in pursuit of its target. The _Red Faction_ swiftly veered through the desert ground, twisting and turning around half-buried buildings to gain cover in his escape.

"Blast that, Lynx!" muttered Anton. He swerved around and began his attack run, "I won't let you bring me down without a good fight!" _Red Faction_ launched a swarm of missiles into the air as it continued forward. The missiles buzzed upward and came back down onto the violet NEXT.

The _Queen's Mercy_ Quick-Boosted to the left, avoiding several missiles and shooting the rest down with its Gatling. Anton scoffed as he aimed his rifles and fired away. Again his enemy swiftly dodged his bullets, Quick-Boosting left and right. It then strafed to one side, hammering _Red Faction_'s Primal Armor with its powerful laser rifle. Anton furiously shook his head, "No-no-NO! I won't fail again or GA's going to have my head! DIE!" The _Red Faction_ relentless returned fire, ignoring the instinct of evasion.

The _Queen's Mercy_'s SIRIUS cannon unfolded over its shoulder again, shrieking out a deadly bolt of pure lightning. It shattered the remaining surface of the ghostly Primal Armor and tore of its entire shoulder and arm. Finally with a cry of anguish, Anton and the _Red Faction_ toppled over into the sand. Both NEXT and Lynx fell silent, utterly immobilized. After one short and gruelling minute worth of fighting, only the _Queen's Mercy_ was left standing before the fallen _Red Faction_.

'_[Alright!]'_ shrieked the voice from the radio, _'[Way to go, Itsumi!]'_

Itsumi Freihart* let out a long sigh of relief. Her body sagged back in her seat as she wiped the sweat away from her forehead. A calming atmosphere filled her core as she continued to listen to her field operator.

"Yeah, Lulu…we really pulled it off again…" breathed Itsumi with a smile.

'_[Ha-ha! GA's NEXT, _Red Faction_, is toast! Mission complete! Interior Union's going to be happy when they hear this.]'_

Itsumi nodded with a cheerful giggle, "That's good to know."

[******]

In the middle of the European continent, a sea of sand could be seen for millions of miles. Natural life and creatures were void of existence across the dunes. The winds tainted with infective pollution shrouded the fields of sand, feeding off any breathing life-form that was fortunate to escape the sun's smoggy rays.

Within the dune seas a large city sized slate of metal was exposed to that infected wind. It was built out of thick titanium and anti-radiation material, barricading the poisonous air from entering any further. The metal slate was in the shape of a giant metal gate, jaws clenched to protect its internals.

Several hundred miles below ground surface was a heavily built and fortified colony, supporting more than 100 000 people that had survived the deadly lands above. People were poorly dressed and looked exhausted from months of working or scrounging scraps of food for days on end. They were also tired from the state their once gorgeous world is in. Vehicles buzzed across the street with battered hides as they crossed the path of larger and well-built trucks of a renowned company. The buildings were made out of pure steel and diamond hard windows, their very infrastructures ready to take a pounding from an earthquake. The entire subterranean colony was known as a _Haven*_, this in particular was codenamed: _Nazeraith*_. Inside one of the buildings, of a local baking school, passed a young 18 year old woman by a sooty window.

Itsumi placed down a freshly baked cake onto the steel counter, rubbing her fingers together to disperse the tingling heat from them. A dreamy smile stretched on her lips as she quietly thought over the designs for that very cake. She began by placing on thick and tender layers of icing, to give a delicious and tantalizing look. Her eyes were blue, sparkles of care and kindness dancing within them. Her long silky black hair was tied back in a ponytail with loose ends that reached passed her hips. She had a slender body figure, from piloting the sophisticated Armored Core NEXT and constant practise of bakery. She wore a simple dark grey t-shirt, loose brown khaki pants, and old Velcro running shoes. Around her body was an apron with patches of flour and batter and a small baker's hat rested on the top of her head.

Next she added fruits to the cake's side and creamy face, displaying a masterpiece of patient creativity. She took hold of squeeze-bottle full of whip cream. Gently, she began her final touches.

"I knew I would find you here."

"EEK!" shrieked Itsumi. Instinctively she moved the bottle over a sink to her left, just in time for her frightened reflexes to squeeze a spoonful of whip cream into it. She took several deep breaths before whirling around, "L-Lulu?!"

Itsumi's field operator, Lulu Johnson*, stood right behind her with a waiting glance and crossed arms. She wore a short brown skirt, a blouse that revealed her bare shoulders, had curly locks of dark blue hair that touched the skin of her shoulds, and leather high-heeled boots. Itsumi left out a shuddering breath, placing one hand onto her chest to calm her self.

"Do you always have to do that?" uttered Itsumi.

"Aah, Itsumi. You're at it again," grinned Lulu, mischievously. Itsumi laughed off her anxiety and Lulu had a sincere smile, "It's for those kids again, right?"

"Yes," acknowledged Itsumi, "The orphanage is holding a birthday for Mathew. I promised Sister Alia that I would make the cake for him, as well as treats for the others."

"Itsumi, Itsumi…" shook Lulu's head, "…A Streamgard* Rank 17 Lynx, baking a cake for little boys and girls…What's next, you'll put on a play for the homeless?"

Itsumi giggled as she drew whip cream across the cake, "Sounds like a good idea." Lulu let out a short breath of laughter and shook her head.

"Who knows? If it weren't for the Conflict you might as well have become a baker or something…"

"Heh-heh…It's my dream since I was a little girl…"

Lulu's smile faltered. She looked away, "It was…it _was_." Itsumi finished the last of the whip cream and stopped. She pulled away the bottle and stared at her beautiful cake with solemn eyes.

"Who would have thought…everything turned out like this?" she wondered.

"ORCA and their 'Closed Plan' have failed…but on par with the League's major losses of resources to support the Cradles…" muttered Lulu.

"Wasn't that Economic War supposed to end? How come it revolves around as another problem?"

"Heh…Ever since the ORCA leader, Maximillian Thermidor, was taken out and the downfall of the great Wynne D. Fanchon…everything is a mess."

Itsumi rested the squeeze-bottle aside and turned, "Now, the problem has spread…affecting even the other Lynx."

Lulu nodded, "League jerks…planning to use the rest of humankind to run a profit making scheme…Serves them right that some of the companies broke off from them."

"Rosenthal, Interior Union, BFF…they're…all on our side right?" wondered Itsumi. Lulu nodded as her friend continued, "Together they make the Guild*…wanting nothing but a greater good for the people that are left surviving on Earth, even with the pollution outside." She sighed, "And because of their separation…Collared's also split into two."

"Well you can't blame them right?" wondered Lulu, "They are the League's middle-men to get you Lynx to do their dirty work. The separating companies were able to convince half of the Collared organization to side with them, while the remaining clung to the League…thus forming the second division of middle-men, the Streamgard…and that's where you, and possible I your field operator, fit in." Itsumi giggled, shrugging off her worries. She turned the cake around to get a good look at it. She gingerly added a large solid chocolate piece and wrote the words: Happy Birthday Mathew. Lulu frowned, "As one of the few, you too went against' Collared and the League's ideals…Are you fine with that?"

Itsumi nodded as she finished her entire cake. She took in a calm and deep breath, smelling the fragrance of freshly baked cookies and muffins, "Of course…everyone's suffering because the world is like this…I wish I can stop this suffering, but just myself is not enough…" She turned to Lulu with a hopeful glint in her eyes, "I want to put all of my effort together with those who share the same desire…to protect humanity in our time of crisis…"

Lulu smirked, "You sound like that ORCA guy, Thermidor…"

Itsumi waved off the remark, "I'm not as direct in action as he was…"

"Well, from my point of view there _is_ another way to make _your_ world a better one…" spoke Lulu with a sly smile, leaning against a nearby counter.

Curious, Itsumi blinked, "Hmm?"

"Get – your~self – a – boy~friend," sung Lulu. The words never occurred to Itsumi right away. It only took exactly ten seconds for her cheeks to burn crimson red, "Oh come on, Itsumi! Don't tell me you can't find one? Name your type and I'll match you up!"

"N-n-n-n-no-no! I'm f-f-fine, please d-don't bother!" stuttered Itsumi, furiously waving and shaking her head.

"Oh…" said Lulu, with a haughty tone, "Is the great _Violet Rose_ shy to find someone she loves?"

"Lulu!" The field operator perked her head up, her thoughts put in pause. Itsumi nervously giggled and quickly pulled forth a scrumptious fruit tart, with lots of strawberry, "Here, can you try this for me?"

"UWAH! Strawberry fruit tart! My favourite!" shrieked Lulu with excitement. She greedily snatched the desert out of Lulu's hands and happily bit a piece off. The fancy field operator practically danced on the spot with joy like an excited girl, "Oh…It's so good! I love you Itsumi!"

Itsumi let out a shaky laugh of relief, knowing Lulu have forgotten their recent subject altogether. She turned around to put the freshly made cake into a cake-box.

"Oh, by the way…" munched Lulu, "What's that smoky smell?"

Itsumi gagged, "AH! The soufflé!" Without another word she dashed towards a nearby stove, leaving Lulu a tad dazed.

"You made soufflé…for a kid's birthday?" she wondered. Itsumi pulled open the often, a puff of grey smoke filtering into the air. Frantically, she pulled out a tray with thick steam coming off its surface. In the center was a sooty white bowl. She leaned in closer to see the insides and blew away the steam. A puff of charcoal black smoke exploded into her face. Lulu jumped on the spot, swallowing the last of her desert in a choking hurry. She coughed before calling out through the billowing black fog, "I…Itsumi?"

The Lynx, Itsumi, stepped forward out of the fog. Her entire face was sooty from black ashes, a solemn look of defeat, "_Mou_…"

[******]

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" hollered a group of children. They surrounded a ten year old boy, sitting at the end of an old tattered table. He made a speedy wish and blew out all ten candles in a single breath.

"Yay!" giggled Itsumi. She sat in a tiny chair as she watched the children all took a piece of cake that she made. Her face was cleaned off from the soot as she grinned at the children enjoying their treats.

"Don't they have a bigger chair?" muttered Lulu. Itsumi turned to her friend, who sat right next to her in an equally small chair. She had a twisted look of disdain as her eyes wandered around to avoid her dark and dirty surroundings.

"Unless you donate some," quipped Itsumi.

"I don't get paid enough just to buy the right cosmetics…" grumbled Lulu.

"Thank you so much, Itsumi." Itsumi stood up from her seat and turned to face a woman older than her.

"Sister Alia."

"Please, have a seat my dear," gestured Sister Alia. They both sat on the small chairs, both watching the children eating treats and opening presents, "You have done so much for us, Itsumi. I'm not even sure how we can thank you."

Lulu interjected, "Cold hard Credits will—" Itsumi nudged her in her ribs and she lost her breath.

"It's fine, Sister Alia. I really enjoy seeing the children happy," replied Itsumi, with a friendly wave.

"I never expected someone like you would go as far as volunteering and baking food for the orphans. You have our gratitude."

"Itsumi!" The girl turned around to meet the wide grin of Mathew, the birthday boy, "Thank you for the cake! It's really good! Here, this is for you!" From behind his back, he pulled out a strange object. Itsumi joyfully smiled as Lulu took a close look. It was a rolled up white paper towel, in the shape of a rose.

Lulu frowned to herself, "You call that a—" A foot with an old running shoe stomped on the toe of her boot of the latest fashion. She bit her lip as tightly as she could and curled up in silent pain. Itsumi graciously received the present and held it delicately in her hands.

"Thank you so much, Mathew," she replied with a smile. She leaned forward and gave the boy a tender kiss on the forehead, "Happy birthday!" The boy chuckled and ran back to the other children.

Suddenly, a short electronic chirp sounded off. Itsumi and Lulu perked their bodies up in alert, turning to their wrists. From their special wristwatches, a red bulb was flashing in suit with the beeping. The two exchange quick glances to each other, then Itsumi turned to Sister Alia.

"My apologies, Sister Alia…may we be excused for a moment?" said Itsumi. Sister Alia returned a short nod and Itsumi gracefully stood up from her seat. Lulu, on the other handle stumbled in her rise and clasped onto Itsumi for balance.

They both walked over into an empty office room and pushed the door shut. Lulu pressed a button on her watch and its strange alarm fell silent. Itsumi held up her wrist, the electronic screen of her watch covering over her pulse as it still beeped.

With a press of her finger, a large holographic screen was displayed in front of them in the air. Images moved around and focused while a female voice spoke out. The voice was so clear that it felt like someone was actually standing right before them. Itsumi and Lulu listened closely and carefully.

**[##ROSENTHAL##]**  
**Sent to: Streamgard Lynx, Itsumi Freihart.**  
**Subject: Support and Protect Supply Convoy**  
**Client: Rosenthal Corporations**  
**Mission Parameters :**

'_Here is your mission. Rosenthal Corporations wants you to support the supply convoy, _Algorica*_. They consist of several heavy transports shipping food and resources that are needed to be safely transported to the underground colony, _Haven Nazeraith_. _

_There have been multiple reports of enemy attack on them in a series of short ambushes and skirmishes. We have no details of the enemies' origin, but you are authorized to dispatch them if they prove to be any more of a threat to the convoy. _

_You are also allowed to have a wing-mate to accompany you on this mission, for we have no intelligence regarding the number or strength of hostile forces. You will also be working along with two Independent NEXTs, _Ballistic_ and _Edelweiss_, who were hired in escorting the convoy from their departure point. _

_They are currently en route to the Rough Coyote Canyons*, where you and your wing-mate will meet up with them. The canyon area is a natural maze, with plenty of extra routes that can give the advantage of possible enemy encounters. Once you and the convoy have safely cleared the area, you will continue to escort them to _Haven Nazeraith_. _

_We hope you can take on this mission. It is crucial that the supplies for the colony stay intact.'_

**[##END TRANSMISSION##]**

Lulu whistled and raised an eyebrow, "Four NEXTs just to protect some transports…" She straightened with a puzzled and unimpressed look, "Either these baddies are really tough nuts to crack…or the higher ups in Rosenthal are over-reacting…" Lulu shrugged, "So, what's your answer?"

Itsumi pressed the blinking 'accept' tab across the holographic screen, causing Lulu's eyes to bulge, "H-Hey! What are you—" Lulu clawed out at the screen, but it vanished just as her fingers touched an edge of it. With staggering steps she straightened her spine, "You actually going with this?"

"Yes," answered Itsumi with a carefree grin.

"Why? You have no idea what you're up against…even Rosenthal doesn't know!" shrieked Lulu, "Not to mention the convoy's already got two NEXT to back them up and its still not enough! I smell something fishy going on and it's definitely not this room." Itsumi giggled as she sat across the corner of the old office desk.

"The people here at _Haven Nazeraith_ have already been delayed of food and supplies…who knows when they'll have another decent meal?" she wondered, "Besides…" Itsumi turned to her friend, who is still astonished by her answer, "I want to do everything I can to help…to bring back happy smiles we all lost because of the Conflict…"

Lulu was stunned as she stood in silence. Shortly she scoffed a laugh under her breath, muttering, "…_'to protect humanity in our time of crisis'_…"

"Hey, don't copy me!" laughed Itsumi. Lulu shrugged it off, but noticed a blank look on Itsumi's face, "Wait…this is Rosenthal…right?"

"Don't tell me you didn't pay attention to that mission-girl's briefing…" retorted Lulu, "Sure she sounded nice and pretty, but she was a bomb of dead-boredom, come on!" Itsumi never answer and she raised her watch again, projecting several holographic screens. Curious, Lulu watched as Itsumi keyed in words and coding across the screen's keyboard, "What are you—" Before Lulu finished, the screens withdrew back to the main one and it projected a database of some sort. Lulu leaned in right over Itsumi's shoulders, eyes narrowed across the screen. The title heading was: 'List of Available Lynx'.

As Lulu stared at it in puzzlement, Itsumi skipped straight to Lynx name-category 'G'. To Itsumi's disappointed face, it was void of any free Lynx under the chosen column.

"_Mou_…" she groaned, "He's not there…"

"Who?" wondered Lulu. Itsumi gasped in fear when she noticed Lulu's searching eyes, "Hm…_G_? Rosenthal? _G_…AH!" A sly smile widened across Lulu's lips as she gave Itsumi a sultry look, "Itsumi's dream knight in a shining NEXT! Gerald Grendlin!"

Itsumi frantically sprung up from her seat and staggered backwards from Lulu. Her hands anxiously waved in frightened denial, "N-NO, NOT AT ALL!"

Lulu trapped Itsumi into a corner, slamming a hand into the wall over Itsumi's left shoulder. Her arm blocking the nervous girl off, Lulu leaned in for the kill, "Oh come on, Itsumi…I know your little secret long ago! Besides, who wouldn't fall for the handsome knight of Rosenthal…" Lulu perked up her head in excitement, "Not to mention that gorgeous NEXT of his, _Noblesse Oblige_…Ooh, how I wish I could have a NEXT like that…"

"Eh?" wondered Itsumi, "You…drive a NEXT? How come you never mentioned it before?" Lulu gagged and withdrew her arm. She turned away uncomfortably, staring down at the ground.

"N-no, of course not! I only have an interest in their design schema," uttered Lulu, "that's all…"

"But you never mentioned about—"

"ENOUGH OF THAT!" Lulu's sudden raise of voice took Itsumi by surprise. Her astonishment dissipated when Lulu threw an arm around her shoulder, with a curious look, "So, who do you plan to work with…if not Gerald…"

"Ah…right," Cheeks burning, Itsumi started to create a list of all Streamgard Lynx on stand-by. Lulu let out a long and shaky sigh of relief from the change of topic, as she watched. After a few seconds the list was completed and was projected back onto the screen, reading:

**[Lynx Pilots Available…**_**1**_**]**

A blank look veiled over Lulu and Itsumi as they stared at the results.

"No…way," breathed Lulu.

"The Conflict between the League and the Guild must be getting extreme…almost every Streamgard Lynx are occupied…" uttered Itsumi.

"So…who's the lucky guy?" wondered Lulu, with crossed arms.

"Eh?" returned Itsumi. Lulu gestured with a nod to Itsumi at the single result on the screen. Itsumi double tapped her slender finger onto the screen and the single profile appeared before her.

It was a young man at the age of 19. He looked thin, but well-built, and made up for his frail physique with a gentle and cheerful smile. His hair was shocking white and his eyes were soft purple, glinting with a mysterious sense of wisdom behind them. The young man had an enigmatic and incomprehensible aura around him, as he stared right back at Itsumi's eyes through the photo. His entire profile was blank, except for his list of mission results, his name, and his NEXT's christening: Endless Evarg and AC _DeepGrave_.

"E…Endless?" wondered Itsumi.

"Whaaaat? Endless Evarg?" groaned Lulu out loud, "Of all the Lynx in this crummy world, _him_? You're kidding me?!"

"Eh? Wh-what's wrong, Lulu?"

Lulu scoffed, "If he's going to be your partner, you better watch you back."

"Why's that?"

"Rumour has it he's a horrible wing-man…always leaving the mission boundaries and goes solo…"

Itsumi blinked with curiosity, "Why would he do that?"

Lulu shrugged, "I don't know…heard he always chases after an invisible enemy."

"An invisible enemy?" Itsumi turned back to the Endless' photo. For a long and quiet, their eyes connected. She felt a deep and strange feeling stir within her, from the very aura that Endless gave off from his picture, "He's just recently joined Streamgard…yesterday even."

"Probably he's been kicked out by several different companies because of his A.W.O.L.-ing…" replied Lulu, hotly.

"What?"

"_Absent without leave_; meaning abandoning his duties without permission."

Itsumi returned a nod, "Oh…"

"If I were you, I would ditch the guy and take this mission yourself," muttered Lulu, "better that than have the guy dumbing you half way in a dangerous mission like the one you're on." Itsumi stared at Endless again in silent thought. Finally, a decision appeared in her mind and she grinned.

"I'll take him with me."

"Now, that's a wise – WHAT?!" Before Lulu could change Itsumi's mind, Itsumi's delicate finger pressed the 'request' tab.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_**Mo-u**_**: **It is a Japanese term much in the reference as a groaning or utterance of _'Oh…'_ in distress and/or irritation.

Weapon Data all collected from: www5f-biglobe-ne-jp/~yasuwo/confACfA-htm  
NOTE: Replace '-' with '.'


	2. Soul of Joseph

_**All **_**Armored Core for Answer**_** base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**_

_**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata.**_

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END****  
Mission 02 || [Soul of Joseph]**

Within the streets of the poorer-section of _Haven Nazeraith_, people were scattered about in silence. Some sat on the streets in deep thought, while others busied themselves to find work, food, and shelter. Many of them were dressed in old and tattered clothing and a majority of children were dressed in no more than rags. The atmosphere was dull and damp, no one having even the strength to smile. Among the silent refugees of the _Haven_, a light snore came from somewhere.

The sound came from a young man nearby. He was lying across an old bench, deep in sleep with a thick and opened novel covering his face. He wore long dark brown sweat pants, tattered hiking-like boots, a black vest with crimson red rims, black leather gloves, and a simple dark-grey t-shirt.

Nearby, a bulky man with a torn cloak approached at the corner from an alleyway. With a beady gaze, he eyed the young man lying across the bench. He made no sudden move, but simply scratched the tip of his nose. As he did he glanced off at another hostile-looking man, who was leaning against a street-lamp close-by. The second man returned a slow and deadly looking nod, nonchalantly rubbing the center of his forehead. He too glimpsed at another man of equal calibre, which he returned a snicker. Together, all three of them approached the one lying across the bench. When they were close, they exchanged grinning nods reached out to begin their pick-pocketing.

Without warning, the young man's hand shot up and latched onto the first man's wrist.

Before he could gasp the hand instantly swung down and flipped the burly pick-pocket into the ground with amazing strength and speed. Thick bones crunched across the ground. The other two were wide eyed and instinctively withdrew they hands, staring down. The young man sleeping on the bench was still snoring. The book remained balance on his face and his grappling arm fell limp across his chest.

The two thieves retaliated, throwing random punches down through the air. With lightning speed, the young man's arm awakened and blocked every blow. It nimbly punched out into their chest with a massive force in a blink of an eye. One hit square right into each of their chest. The men doubled over and stumbled backwards.

Fear-stricken, the three men lashed out simultaneously. Suddenly, both of the young man's arms came alive and swiftly gripped their sleeves. With a boulder-moving pull, the three men smashed into each other by their heads. In utter silence, they crumbled over like dolls and cluttered across the old cement ground. The arms dropped back to the young man's side and he finally gave out a yawn. He casually sat up and the book fell off his face, landing into his outstretched right hand as his thumb pinned down the open pages.

Endless Evarg* shook his head, his shocking white hair following in suit. He quietly rubbed his eye with a weary expression, "Is it afternoon already?" He turned down to his open novel, a grin crossing his face, "Heh-heh…still can't get enough of this book…" He bended a corner of the page and shut the book single-handedly. Endless swung his legs off the bench and they touched the ground. He then noticed one of the men lying unconscious on the floor and had a curious look. With a turn he spotted the other two, also fast asleep with large lumps on their heads. Endless tilted his head in confusion, "Wonder what happened?"

[******]

Endless strode down the streets with a cheerful expression, as he ate a vanilla ice-cream cone in his hand. He chuckled to himself as he enjoyed the frosty desert with a child-like grin. Laughter rung out into the air and it caught his attention. Slowly, he turned with curiosity.

Nearby him was a park laden with emerald green grass and rustling trees. Several children of the _Haven_ gathered together for a playful game of hide-and-seek. Endless could not help a smile as he took another bite from his ice cream. He stepped onto the park grounds approaching the children from a distance. As soon as his boot touched the grass, he instantly knew they were artificial. He continued forward, glimpsing at the trees. No matter how real and inviting the trees looked, he too knew they were simply holograms. Deep in the back of _his_ mind, he knew the truth too well.

He chuckled off the thought as he stopped, watching the children continuing their game. They began by picking on a small girl to be 'it'. Soon, they quickly hid around the park as the girl turned her back, closed her eyes, pressed her face against her crossed arm on an artificial tree trunk, and counted out loud.

"1…2…4…6…10…41…99…100! Ready or not, here I—"

"Excuse me?" The girl perked her head up with surprise and turned. She came face to face with Endless, who was crouched down to her level, and he gave her a gentle smile, "What game are you playing?"

"Hide-and-seek, mister…Want to play with us?" asked the girl.

"May I?" chuckled Endless. The girl nodded, but instantly frowned.

"Oh…now I have to count to 100 all over again!" she stamped her feet.

"Not really," replied Endless, "Close your eyes for 1 second."

"Okay…" And she did, "1! Okay mister let's…" She trailed off when her eyes open. Endless had disappeared right before her very eyes. Bewildered, she whirled around to find the young man she had just met. Strangely, he was no where in sight, "Wow, he's fast…" With that, she jogged off to begin the 'seeking' part of the game.

Endless kept his playful laugh under a low whisper. He sat across a branch of a nearby holographic tree and watched the young girl wander around, hollering out names of her friends to show up. With a cheerful grin, he continued to eat the rest of his ice-cream.

"Sorry little girl, but you can't catch me," he quipped. He silenced his tongue when the girl was searching around his area. Knowing that the girl could not see him, he spared a moment to look around.

It was a wonderful sight, from the perspective of Endless's perch. He saw the dark streets brightening as they approach more to the higher-state section of _Haven Nazeraith_. Though even that section still had an old look to it, its appearance was more appealing than the poorer-section. Nonetheless, he grinned as he surveyed the nearly identical buildings that were heavily scattered across the _Haven_ grounds. As he continued to enjoy the view, he noticed something.

At a nearby crossroads, he spotted a young high-school girl in a plain-fashioned uniform. She lightly strode down the sidewalks until she reached the crosswalk, waiting for her path to glint green. Despite being red, several other older pedestrians simply sauntered over the empty streets. Endless saw a sense of dilemma within the girl's eyes, lost and not knowing if she should follow others' examples. After another business-suit clad man and women waltz right across the street, the girl took a hesitant step.

Endless lowered his ice cream cone from his lips and carefully watched her. Halfway across, the strap of her tattered shoe snapped off and she tripped to the ground. She scraped her knee as her loose shoe lightly teetered back and forth across the pavement behind her. Quickly, she staggered across her knees to reach for it and to pass the crosswalk as soon as possible. Nonchalantly, Endless tossed his ice cream cone over his shoulder.

With inhuman speed, he leapt out of the tree top and landed at the far edge of the park; covering an entire half-mile through the air. His legs snapped upward, springing him forward at in a groundless sprint. Soundlessly, he landed right behind the girl and carried her in his arms before she even realized anything.

"It's not safe here," Endless softly whispered behind the girl's ear. She gasped, shocked as she acknowledged Endless' appearance. She never had a chance to retort or call for help, as Endless leapt back with her and landed safely across the sidewalk. A giant truck, with the company logo BFF, zipped right past them, passing over the spot where the girl was before being pulled back by Endless. A petrified expression was cast over her face, pale and blank. Endless examined her, "Are you alright?" The girl could not speak, but was able to return a silent nod.

Endless returned a comforting smile and carefree chuckle. Slowly, he pulled his arms away from the girl and stood up. Casually, he walked across the street and gracefully picked up the girl's shoe. He returned to her side, a friendly and enigmatic air around him. He knelt down on one knee, gingerly took the girl's left ankle, and inserted her shoe back onto her small foot. The girl could not help a blush as Endless rested her leg down. He noticed the scrape on her knee.

"Want to see a trick?" he asked. The girl was taken aback, but Endless intercepted her thoughts by placing a hand on her wounded knee, "Close your eyes." Hesitantly, she did. Endless chuckled again and patted her knee three times, causing her to wince twice, "1 – 2 – 3. All better." The girl opened her eyes, surprised in not feeling pain on the third pat. She stared at her knee, taken aback by the sudden disappearance of her injury. It was as if the wound never happened. Bewildered, she gazed back up at Endless. The young man simply gave her a playful hush, "It's our little secret okay?" The girl nodded, standing back up with the help of Endless.

"By the way…you don't have to follow others in order to make the right or wrong decision…" The girl was taken aback and stared at him with curiosity. She saw an unknown source of wisdom emanating from his purple eyes, "You have the ability to make your own choices. Once you have chosen your answer, either act upon it for yourself or work with others who will support you…Okay?"

The girl slowly nodded and Endless chuckled again. She took slow steps away from the young man, careful in not losing her broken shoe again. After a moment, she stopped and turned with a slight pause. The high school girl then gave him a deep bow. When she straightened, her hands were brought up to her chest and they started to form a series of practised hand signals: sign language. Her hands stop when she passed him her message, waiting for a hopeful response. After a pause, Endless grinned and bowed his head, "It is nice to meet you too, Miss Trixy. My name is Endless Evarg."

Trixy* smiled, forming more signs with her hands with a gentle smile.

"You're very welcome," replied Endless, in complete understanding. He too held up his hands and formed precise hand-signs himself, _'Hope to see you again. Stay safe.'_ Trixy gave a soundless giggle. She returned a joyful wave and happily strode off. Endless waved back as well, until a familiar hand tugged at his vest.

"Mister, I found you!"

Surprised, Endless looked down to meet the girl who was playing hide-and-seek. Her tiny fist pinched onto the edge of his vest with a wide grin. Endless looked around her and saw the sour faces of her 'founded' friends. He gave off a youthful laugh.

"Looks like you caught me…" That was when Endless froze, hearing a whisper in the back of his mind. He turned to stare down at the quiet street, all the way to a large military-like facility in the distance, "_DeepGrave_?"

[******]

Endless' echoing footsteps came to a dull stop across the steel flooring. He stared up at the high ceiling of a docking port for a NEXT-size Armored Core, with waiting eyes.

"What's the matter, _DeepGrave_?"

The young man stood across a sturdy catwalk within the midst of a vast docking chamber. Eerie white lights cascaded over the entire room with a luminescent glow. In the center of it all stood a mighty giant of metal with dull-purple wings, a sable and red NEXT.

It had the HD-HOGIRE head with a green LED visor-screen, the torso of a SOLUH-CORE, A01-TELLUS arms, and L01-TELLUS legs. The sable NEXT was armed with a 051ANNR hi-accuracy rifle in its right hand, a 04-MARVE assault rifle in its left, and its shoulder-weapons were a pair of 051ANAM hi-active flares. Across its back were two identical dual-shot hi-laser cannons, the HLC09-ACRUX, that formed a pair of formidable wings. Altogether they formed the powerful Armored Core NEXT, _DeepGrave_.

Endless approached his NEXT, as if towards a dear friend, and stared up with an ever listening stare, "You don't like it here or what? If you want, I can always move you to a bigger room," He paused, allowing a whisper resonate in the back of his mind, "You're fine? Well, that's good to know. At least some of my credits won't go to waste…" Silence answered, but he chuckled as if he heard a comical retort, "Just kidding…Hey…" Endless turned to his craft, "You think we'll face them again?"

_DeepGrave_ stood in silence, not making any reaction whatsoever.

"_Possibly soon_? How soon?" wondered Endless. Suddenly, the entire chamber was filled with a strange electronically chirp. Not knowing what it was, Endless looked around. A whisper echoed in the back of his mind and he turned to narrow his eyes back at _DeepGrave_, "I knew that…" Realization came to him as he finally remembered his special briefing/messaging watch. He raised his wrist and pressed the button. A holographic screen materialized and focused in mid-air. A rapid scroll of data and information rolled up across his screen as he read it with equal speed.

"Hmm? Someone wants me to be their wing-mate?" he wondered. He tapped in a few keys across the holographic keyboard and waited. Soon, a well displayed profile of the person requesting his help appeared on screen, "Eh? Itsumi…Freihart, and _Queen's Mercy_?"

A whisper resonated again within Endless' mind. He grinned as he simply pressed the 'accept' tab across the screen. As it flickered off, Endless turned to _DeepGrave_ with a smile.

"It's time to get to work, _DeepGrave_."

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Weapon Data all collected from: www5f-biglobe-ne-jp/~yasuwo/confACfA-htm  
NOTE: Replace '-' with '.'


	3. Wandering Magi

_**All **_**Armored Core for Answer**_** base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**_

_**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata.**_

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END****  
Mission 03 || [Wandering Magi]**

"GOING _BALLISTIC_!"

Under a dark and stormy night, a volley of missile flared into the rainy air and twisted around back to earth. A shower of smoke and explosion ploughed the muddy earth, dispatching multiple Normals in a single sweep.

Basher Magnum* extended a wild and trigger-happy grin, his fiery emerald eyes dancing left and right in search for more enemy targets, "Come on – come on! Don't keep me waiting fellas! YA-HOW!"

He veered his heavy-weight NEXT, a burning orange and red GAN02-NSS NEW SUNSHINE model with bulky-armored GAN01-SS-L biped legs. Its right weapon was a powerful GAN01-SS-WBP hi-powered and cross-framed bazooka, its left was a GAN02-NSS-WBS thick-barrelled spread bazooka, and the bulky shoulders had a pair of 061ANRM retaliation missiles. Proudly integrated across its back were: a WHEELING03 long-framed vertical launch missile-rack on the right side and a GAN01-SS-GC heavy Gatling cannon on its left.

This formed a deadly force, waiting to unleash its prideful fury: _Ballistic*_.

The burning-orange NEXT levelled its Gatling cannon and unleashed a stream of bullets. Normals that approached under its sights were ripped apart by the limbs and torso, collapsing forward and sinking into the mud. Missile screeched again and crashed down on more in an unpredictable hailstorm, pelting the Normals into nothingness. A smirk twisted on Basher's face as he slowly Boosted back from his current position.

"Pheh," he spat, "Nothing but a bunch of Normals and MTs…not much of a challenge I'd say…" Just then, his HUD rang a warning and he merely glimpsed to this right. A pair of heavy cannon rounds struck him from one side, his Primal Armor flickering like a mist of ghosts. He grunted under the shock and glared at his attackers. Through the darkness of the storm, he could make out the silhouettes of an MT and two Normals, "If only they knew when to QUIT!" He spun _Ballistic_ around with a spiteful grimace.

A sharp howl cracked into the sky, followed by the clash of thunder and lightning. With a screech, a deadly round tore through one Normal's collar and the other's chest. They lifelessly toppled over into a fiery flash. Another shot barked and crushed in the box-like skull of the MT. Basher perked his head up with realization, a slow grin stretching on his face as he sat back in his core's seat.

"Not bad, Xyla. Looks like I have to keep up!"

"No need," whispered a bland and monotonous voice through Basher's console radio. _Ballistic_ turned around to face a tall canyon wall behind him. Under a flash of lightning, he spotted the figure of a silent and deadly looking 047AN02 modelled dark blue NEXT.

It was equipped with a pair of 09-FLICKER across its shoulder edges, an unfolded and hi-powered 061ANSC sniper cannon at its right-back, and a 050ANR long and double finned radar device across its behind its left side. The right arm grasped onto the handle of a short, but highly accurate, 063ANNR assault rifle, and attached to its left fore-arm was a small, and formidable, 02-DRAGONSLAYER laser blade. The NEXT's four eyes, in cross-formation, blared electrifying purple; the _Edelweiss*_.

Xyla Montague* glimpsed at her radar from the corner of her eyes. Several red icons were closing in on her and Basher's location. Swiftly, the _Edelweiss_ rotated on its perch across the rock formation and aimed its sniper cannon. With a deafening surge of fiery light, the round pierced through another Normal nearest to them. Its rifle followed up by firing at nearby MTs from a great distance, dispatching them immediately.

"Safe to pass," she whispered. Below her NEXT a long trail of heavily armored and thick wheeled transports rolled across the muddy path of the canyon, all with the logo of Rosenthal Corporation. The _Ballistic_ back stepped closer towards the convoy, preventing any enemies from approaching through another path that connect to their current position.

The fiery Lynx of _Ballistic_ twisted his lip in distaste as he missed a couple of shots due to the visual-distortion of the heavy storm rain, "Stinking weather," He turned to look over his shoulder within his core, "Yo, _Algorica_! Move faster, we don't have all day if you haven't noticed!"

'_[We're moving as fast as we can!]'_ retorted the captain of the convoy _'[If _you_ haven't noticed, we're hauling over hundreds of tons worth of _Haven_ supplies. So keep your hat on and just do your job!]'_

"Excuse me?" Basher demanded, with a vein growing across his forehead. The _Ballistic_ turned to glare at the convoy as well. An enemy Normal appeared from behind is rocky cover and aimed for the unbeknownst NEXT. Without turning, _Ballistic_ raised its right bazooka and shot off the entire upper-body of the unfortunate Normal.

Basher grimaced as he pulled himself closer to the radio com-link, "MY HAT IS ALREADY ON, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! BUT OUR ONLY PROBLEM IS YOUR LOUSY HUNK OF JUNK SLOWING US DOWN!" Basher paused, waiting for a reply. He could imagine the captain was too stunned to say anything. The Lynx continued to munch his every word with barred teeth, "Now, get – your – keisters – **moving**!"

'_[Y-yes, sir…]'_ barely breathed the captain. Basher changed the channel with an angry flip of a switch.

"Xyla, what's your status? Are you still good?"

"Yes…"

"AP?"

"Still 100%..."

"How's your ammo?"

Xyla passively blinked as she calculated, "Remaining ammunition…Sniper: 6 rounds. Rifle: 208 rounds. Flash rockets: 6 left."

Basher cursed under his breath as he examined his weapons, "No good, even I'm down to 30 or so rounds with the bazookas and missiles are running low. Tch, even Gatling's almost out…" He slammed a fist against a sturdy section of his console, "Great – without Mina and the _Swiss Guard*_ to re-supply us, we're sitting ducks without guns to fire back…"

"She was right." Xyla levelled her gaze, emotionless, "To follow us."

"Tch, yeah right! Like I let my baby sis tag along to this dump of a canyon, screaming orders at me whenever she feels like it!" Basher let out a sigh as he shot down two Normals with his spread bazooka, "Still, never did I thought that we could run out of ammo after these constant barrages…better to have forced her go on a detour than to follow us to die in this blast rock-hole."

"You think we'll die?"

"Phff…if I did, little sis would just drag me back out of my grave to teach me a good lesson, maybe you too. Trust me on this; Mina's temper is so hot, even Lucifer wouldn't dare look at her…literally…If you want you can pull out, Xyla. I can handle this."

Xyla did not answer right away. She simply aimed her sniper scope over her eyes, aligned her cannon's reticule with another Normal, and pulled the trigger, "…No…" The shot tore through the Normal like a bullet through tin-foil, sending it exploding into a fiery scrap heap.

A smile crossed Basher as he chuckled. He levelled his two bazookas at figures of several incoming Normals and MTs, "Then throw me a light will ya?"

Xyla quietly nodded and pressed a switch. From _Edelweiss's_ shoulder units, they launched out a pair of blinding white rockets. They arc through the air over _Ballistic's_ knife-like head and landed several meters away in front of it. Across the muddy grounds they flashed with powerful brilliance, flooding light across the canyon path. Multiple Normals and MT popped out of the darkness and into the light, their existence blown out of the nightly cover

A smirk crept across Basher's face, weapons ready, "Much better…" Soon, he unleashed his fury onto the marching hordes of enemies.

Xyla fired off her rifle at two MTs that were pursuing the convoy, until her HUD beeped a warning to her. She took a quick moment to glance at her radar. She spotted a pair of bulky green icons sailing over the canyon formations at cruising speed, heading towards her and Basher's location deep in the canyon routes.

"Back-up has arrived."

"About timing, I was starting to get worried that we'll get their share of the pay…"

[******]

'_[You guys have arrived at _Wild Coyote Canyon_! Just a few more minutes before you two reach the drop point!]'_ called Lulu through Itsumi and Endless' com-link. Together – them and their NEXTs, _Queen's Mercy_ and _DeepGrave_ – were hanging within each spacious belly of two heavy-duty aerial transports. They swiftly flown hundreds of mile over the soggy badlands' landscape as they were buffeted by rough winds and pelting rain.

"Roger that. Thanks, Lulu," replied Itsumi, her voice a little anxious. She then turned to one side of her HUD and activated a screen, with Endless' active image displaying within it, "Are you nervous?" Endless returned a care-free chuckle, as if to support Itsumi.

"Not really. Should I be?" he asked. Itsumi could not help a giggle, feeling his words to be very soothing on her nerves.

"My name is Itsumi Freihart," introduced Itsumi.

"Ha-ha. Nice to meet you, Miss Freihart," Endless properly greeted, "I'm Endless Ev—"

'_[Yeah, yeah. Skip the pleasantries and get your act together, Endless!]'_ snapped Lulu. Endless was perplexed, but obediently kept his mouth shut with a sheepish chuckle.

"S-sorry…" he uttered.

"Lulu!" hissed Itsumi under her breath.

'_[Don't worry, girl, I got it all under control,]'_ playfully answered Lulu, _'[But if he so much as ditches your side within a 3 meter radius, I'll in-personally murder him!]'_

"Don't be so mean!" muttered Itsumi again. Through the com-link Endless seemed to have heard her, yet almost not listening, and she gagged. Anxiously, she averted his attention with a shaky and friendly wave. Endless grinned and waved back as Itsumi could not help but whisper with a shaky smile, "This is a private channel you're talking on…right?" Lulu paused and somehow Itsumi could imagine she was smirking.

'_[Nope.]'_

Itsumi slapped her waving hand to her face and lurched forward in her seat with embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Miss Freihart. I'll support you with everything I've got." Itsumi perked her head up from her hand with surprise. She turned in astonishment at Endless as he returned a short nod and closed his communication screen.

"Endless?" she breathed.

'_[Okay everyone! Beginning drop!]'_ called out Lulu.

At her words, the bay-doors of their aerial transports opened. The iron lips parted even more, sucking in a gale of wet wind within its interior. Itsumi could not help a squeak of fear as her transport suddenly jolted, her NEXT's feet dangerously dangly over hundreds of miles away from the ground below. Endless calmly gripped his controls and closed his eyes. With a snap of a bolt, both _Queen's Mercy_ and _DeepGrave_ slipped down into the howling storm.

Rain struck their electronic-monitors that viewed the outside world, blurry their vision in their descent. Soon, Itsumi collected her rising wits through the fall and kicked on the Boosters. A sickly green flare burned across the _Queen's Mercy_ back and legs, spurting a powerful force to slow the descent of the massive and technologically advanced Armored Core. When she felt her stomach stop lifting, she let out a sigh and skilfully controlled _Queen's Mercy_ through the torrent of wind.

'_[Commencing mission,]'_ called out Lulu, _'[join up with _Ballistic_ and _Edelweiss_ and repel enemy forces as you protect the convoy.]' _Itsumi nodded and started to Quick-Boost her way towards the mission zone. For a moment, she noticed that _DeepGrave_ was not by her side. She glanced around, spotting the winged black NEXT still falling into the air.

"E-Endless? What's wrong?" she asked.

Endless was silent as he continued to free-fall, unbothered as shocking white hair slowly floated around him.

"They're here…" he whispered to himself with a steady tone. He slowly opened his eyes, suddenly burning electrifying violet. His hands swiftly twisted his controls around, snapping the black NEXT to spin in a full 180 degree turn.

'_[What the?! He's turning!]'_ stuttered Lulu. Itsumi gasped and could not help but turn her NEXT around as it continued to fly backwards from inertia. She stared up with confusion at the back of _DeepGrave_.

"Endless, where are you going? We have to reach the mission area to help the others!"

"I've sensed hostile forces, heading straight towards their left and rear flank. _DeepGrave_ and I will intercept them. You go on ahead and assist."

'_[S-sensed? What is he talking about?! Wait, is that creep going to ditch you!]'_ Lulu hollered in disbelief, _'[I was __**so**__ right!]'_

Itsumi could not believe what she was seeing and hearing. Confusion swelled up with her as she blankly stared at her departing wing-mate.

"Trust me…" Itsumi heard him and could not help a gasp and turned. Endless' soft and crystal clear voice, made her felt as if he was right behind her shoulders, "I won't let you down." A burning green inferno charged up across_ DeepGrave's_ back. Itsumi swallowed her dry throat, not knowing what to do. Despite Lulu's words echoing within her head, she returned a gentle and trusting nod. A grin stretched across Endless' face, "Thank you…Let's go _DeepGrave_."

The sable NEXT's burning Overboost surged to life and fired a powerful flare of compressed Kojima energy, disappearing into the distance with in a blink.

'_[He left you…]'_ muttered Lulu. Itsumi winced when her friend's voice filled the core, _'[AND YOU TRUSTED HIM?!]'_

"Yes," answered Itsumi. She could imagine the ghastly look on Lulu's face. She veered _Queen's Mercy_ and headed toward the convoy and escorts, "I do." With that, she too lanced through the air with a blast of Overboost.

[******]

"Dang it!" growled Basher. _Ballistic_ Boosted backward to gain distance from the approaching enemies, discarding its emptied spread-bazooka into the mud. From his left storage hangar, he drew out a LARE handgun and started to punch holes into MTs with it, "Spread bazooka's out! What about you, Xyla?"

"AP damage: 30% and rising." Xyla answered, "Rifle ammunition: 101 rounds left. Flash rockets: depleted."

"Everyone!" Basher and Xyla heard a voice ringing through their com-links. They turned to see a violet Telus with glowing yellow eyes landing right next to a slow-moving convoy transport, "This is Itsumi Freihart and _Queen's Mercy_. We're here to help you and _Algorica_!"

"About time!" muttered Basher, busy shooting a Normal upfront, "What took you?"

"Sorry…" Itsumi uttered

"It's alright," whispered Xyla. She checked her radar before turning back to aim at more Normals, "Your partner?"

"Eh?"

"We were told our back-up would be two NEXTs, where's the other guy or gal?" Basher levelled his bazooka and fired it, letting the round tear through the hearts of two Normals.

Itsumi hesitated, mustering up an excuse, "He…He's intercepting enemies that are heading towards you, 7 o'clock from you position!"

Xyla stopped shooting for a second. She glimpsed at her radar and extended it to maximum radius of 40 kilometres, closely examining it, "Negative." Her words took Itsumi by surprise, "Enemy approach: 12 o'clock only."

"What?"

"You heard Xyla, the only baddies we've got coming at us is the ones in front!" growled Basher in frustration. He rapidly squeezed his trigger to send a volley of missile soaring overhead, "DIE SCUMBAGS!" The rain of ballistics crashed into a squad of MTs and burned them to the muddy ground. Xyla followed up by piercing the heads off of two incoming Normals with her sniper cannon, who flanked the frozen _Queen's Mercy_'s right and left.

'_[Yeah, that Endless dumped you!]'_ muttered Lulu.

"N-no, Endless would never do something like that!" Itsumi denied.

Basher choked as he heard the name mentioned through Itsumi's open com-link. Xyla's finger twitched to a stop from pulling her weapon trigger when she too heard Itsumi through the radio.

'_[You've just met that creep, how do you know what he does and don't?!]' _demanded Lulu.

"I…I…" uttered Itsumi, speechless.

"WHAT?! ENDLESS?!" hollered Basher in angry shock. _Ballistic_ turned to glare at _Queen's Mercy_, unintentionally swiping aside a shattering MT to the ground with the tip of his remaining bazooka cannon, "That nut-case of a Lynx?! Of all the partners in his stinking world, why him?"

"Wh-What?" blinked Itsumi.

"Endless Evarg…" Xyla added, "unreliable."

"I've heard about him," grumbled Basher, "he always messes up a mission, saying that there are enemies around when they don't even exist!" The words struck Itsumi hard in the face. Her hand shivered as a sense of denial and betrayal struggled within her mind. Basher grimaced, "He abandons his job entirely! Just consider him lucky he can still fight as a Lynx…"

"H-he wouldn't do something like that…I…I…" Itsumi desperately seek through her mind for counter words, maybe even a thought. None came as fear and saddening confusion swelled within her chest and stomach. Unable to finish, she swallowed down her emotions and stepped _Queen's Mercy_ up to Basher's side. Venting off her worries from her trouble mind, she assisted _Ballistic_ and _Edelweiss_ in eliminating the remaining forces of Normals and MTs.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Weapon Data all collected from: www5f-biglobe-ne-jp/~yasuwo/confACfA-htm  
NOTE: Replace '-' with '.'


	4. Cometh the Angel

**All _Armored Core for Answer_ base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**

**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata.**

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END  
****Mission 04 || [Cometh the Angel]**

Basher leaned back in his seat of his Armored Core's cockpit. A smug look crossed his face, "Heh, mission complete! Ain't that right, Xyla?!"

The three NEXTs, _Ballistic_, _Edelweiss_, and _Queen's Mercy_, slowly trudged along side the Rosenthal convoy, _Algorica_. Far behind them was the smouldering graveyard of Normal and MT scrap, while some surviving enemies retreated back into the darkness of the night. The storm had stopped as they traveled further down the canyon route, towards the exit along path.

"Yes…" Xyla passively acknowledged. She turned a little to glimpse at _Queen's Mercy_ beside her, "Itsumi?"

Itsumi snapped out of her quiet thoughts with a start, "Y-Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

Itsumi combed her hand through her tied hair over her shoulder, a trouble look glinting in her blue eyes.

"I…am…" she answered weakly. Xyla kept her eyes on the violet NEXT for a moment. She then turned to look back at her main core's HUD.

"Understood."

"Pheh, Endless Evarg…who blasted needs him when all three of us are more than enough…" Basher interjected. He opened his eyes from his grumbling and saw the exiting gap several miles away from their location. A cocky grin brightened, "Hey – hey – hey! Look's like the door to ditch this rock has finally arrived!"

_[Are you still troubled over that Endless?]_ muttered Lulu. Itsumi snapped awake from her thoughts again as her field operator continued, _[Forget about him, Itsumi! When we get back to _Haven Nazeraith_, we'll both give him a piece of our minds!]_

Itsumi blankly nodded, not listening at all, "O…okay." She obliviously missed Lulu's groan. Itsumi lowered her gaze, not knowing what to do, "Why didn't you come back…Endless?"

The convoy and escorting NEXTs reached the canyon mouth, slowly stepping onto open plains again. Basher chuckled as he drove _Ballistic_ forward at a steady pace. Itsumi mindlessly followed. _Edelweiss_, on the other hand, halted. Basher noticed and turned around to the dark blue NEXT. Confused, he opened up a communications screen to see Xyla. Her expression was quiet as she had her gaze down in deep thought.

"Oi, what's eating you Xyla?"

Itsumi came to a halt as well and curiously turned to them, "What's wrong?"

"Presence detected…"

Basher blinked, leaning across his folded arms against his controls, "Say that again?"

"Unknown hostiles," Xyla finally answered. She straightened in her seat and glanced at her radar. Nothing appeared. Still, she had felt something deep insider her. The instincts inside her were never wrong. Her hands gripped her controls tighter.

Basher was utterly puzzled, "Haaaaa?"

The night sky instantly disappeared behind a deadly swarm of black – like a storm of massive locusts. The sudden flashing darkness took everyone by surprise as the three NEXTs stared up in bewilderment. Strange objects spun around in massive flowing hordes, floating through the air. They were in the shape of flying pitch-black saucers, with four folded legs across its round rims. Few miles away from the convoy and escorts, they came to a freezing halt in the air. Instantly, they dropped straight down into the earth with a chorus of deafening crashes. Soon, everything went silent.

Basher dumbfounded blinked as he stared at the landed objects, "What in the blasted world are those?"

"I've…never seen anything like that…" breathed Itsumi.

Xyla did not add anything, but rapidly scattered her fingers across her console. She took another moment to glance at her radar. Besides blue icons of the convoy, three green icons of _Queen's Mercy_, _Ballistic_, and herself, there were no red icons that represented the machines. If she had not known better, the frontal range from her radar's point-of-view was empty of anything. The eyes of _Edelweiss_ flashed and it started to aim its rifle at the dug-in saucers before them. Basher sprang back in his seat with surprise at Xyla's sudden move.

"Whoa – whoa – whoa, Xyla! We don't even know if they're—"

"Hostile," whispered Xyla. She fired of five consecutive rounds at the nearest object, a veil of sand erupted into the air. She stopped and waited with Basher and Itsumi for the smoke to part. To their surprise, the objects were not even scratched.

One by one, they suddenly vibrated to life. Like a wound-up toy, they twitched as they unfolded their legs. They rotated at the knee-joints and their bird-like feet stomped down into the sands. They stood shorter in height by half against the NEXTs, with a small and flimsy-looking body frame. A pause followed.

Basher narrowed his eyes and gripped his controls, his nerves ready. _Ballistic's_ eyes flashed blue and it prepared itself with whatever weapons it had left. Itsumi slowly breathed, but steeled herself. _Queen's Mercy_ aimed its SIRIUS laser cannon over its shoulder and held aloft its railgun laser rifle. Xyla quietly watched her main screen of the strange machines, her breath calm and steady. _Edelweiss_ unfolded its long sniper cannon over its shoulder and waited. The transport behind them shrunk back into the canyon, hoping to avoid what happened next. Basher took a quick peek at his radar, suddenly surprised. Though the enemy was standing right before him and the others, they still did not appear to exist across his radar.

The saucer-walkers instantly sprung out a pair of Vulcan guns at the sides of their flat and round body, extended a short-barrel laser cannon across its disc-like head, and its body horizontally splitted open to reveal a thin and pulsing red LED visor, its eye. Their Vulcan guns rapidly flared with deadly precission and their laser-cannons launched powerful and highly concentrated plasma shells. The three NEXTs instantly sprung into action, igniting their Boosts to strafe away from the unknown enemies' initial barrage. Like drones, the black machines marched towards the canyon mouth and continued their onslaught.

"AH!" cried Basher. He felt his NEXT shaking violently from the constant barrage that struck him. His Primal Armor flickered like a furious phantom, finally bursting into loose particles from a pair of hits from their energy cannons, "Fire back – fire back – fire back! _Ballistic_ quickly retaliated with its Gatling cannon, striking at one of the black machines. To Basher's bewilderment, the bullets reflected off its pitched black surface.

Xyla aimed her sniper, dead in the center of a machine, and fired. The round too harmlessly reflected off the LED eye of the machine as it fired back. Xyla narrowed her eyes as she Boosted into the air to dodge their attacks.

Her eyes narrowed and a faint tone of anger shimmered in her words, "I don't miss…"

_[Itsumi! What's going on?!] _cried Lulu. Itsumi frantically fired back at the black machines. Her shots simply glanced off their body and legs as they kept laying bullets on her at a non-stop rate. _Queen's Mercy_ staggered back from the pummelling, its Primal Armor starting to give into the pressure.

"Why isn't anything working on them?!" shrieked Itsumi. One black machine marched to a stop and fired its laser cannon at the _Queen's Mercy_. It struck the NEXT with an explosive force of a ramming van, causing the giant Armored Core to stumble backward onto the ground with a pop of its Primal Armor, "AH!" Itsumi was thrown back in her seat, nearly knocking her out cold.

Basher kept firing his available guns, but cursed when his other bazooka clicked empty. He discarded it to one side and reached into _Ballistic's_ other weapon storage, but froze. The Lynx glanced over his shoulder as he sensed an eerie feeling crawl across his back. He now knew why.

Basher quickly called out to Itsumi, "Hey, get out of there!"

A group of black machines advanced towards the fallen _Queen's Mercy_. Across the top of their flat heads, small metal doors opened up and it launched a volley of deadly missiles into the night air. Itsumi's eyes widen. The missiles were heading down to earth, straight for her. She yanked at her controls, but her NEXT was too slow to stand back up. Her Primal Armor was temporarily off-lined as well and her AP ran dangerously low. She ran out of any possible options to avoid the attack. The missiles flew straight for her, a pack of howling phantom dogs from the cold beyond. Horror gripped at her soul as she could not control her scream.

"AAAAAAAAAAHH!"

"MISS FREIHART!"

Itsumi gasped at the familiar reference of her name. Above her, a shower of burning projectiles seared through the air like flaming arrows. She took a closer look, surprised to see that they were actually flares. The missiles instantly lost their control as they passed through the fiery shower and spiralled out of their firing solution.

A massive sable figure dropped down from the sky, right in front of the _Queen's Mercy_. Itsumi was rocked back and forth as the ground shook her NEXT around. The shower of rockets cascaded in an unfocused splashed, harmlessly erupting around the _Queen's Mercy_. The figure before her took several of the stray warheads, its ghostly green barrier flashing with a sickening glow. Itsumi looked up. Behind its back, she saw the figure to be a sable and red NEXT with a pair of wing-like laser cannons.

"H-hey, who's that?!" wondered Basher.

"A sable NEXT…" uttered Xyla.

A single name struck Itsumi with frightening realization.

"E…Endless?!"

Endless sat in the middle of his core, his head hung forward and breathing haggardly. He raised his gaze over his shoulders, drops of sweat rolling down his forehead. His eyes burned electrifying violet as he glared at the black machines before him. A grin stretched as he let out a tired breath.

"Sorry, Miss Freihart…did I keep you waiting?"

"Y-you…came back…"

"Of course…" Endless nodded with a sheepish chuckle. He let out a long breath to ease the tension in his muscles, "But forgive me, I couldn't keep the enemy from reaching you…half of them kind of slip right passed me."

"Th-that's okay…" Itsumi stuttered, "and…thank you…"

"Please don't be silly. I promised I will support you with everything I've got."

The machines kept marching forward, all aiming at Endless and his sable NEXT. He felt their presence and simply turned half way to face them. His voice dropped into a whisper, one that felt like a ripple across a calm lake.

"_Schatten-Störung._"

A violet wave pulsed from under _DeepGrave's_ feet. It swiped over the hordes of enemy machines, washing away their black skins. They were revealed to be blue and white, with four thin legs, a flat saucer-like head/body, and round LED eyes that swivelled back and forth horizontally.

Warning signals blared within Xyla's cockpit and she glimpsed up, her eyes widening with shock. An abundance of red icons appeared to life across her radar scanner, counting approximately 1000 in total.

The machines faltered to a halt, noticing their change of colors. The visor of Endless' NEXT flashed green as it prepared itself.

Endless veered on the exposed enemies, "Slay them all! _DeepGrave_!"

He pushed forward on his controls, his NEXT's Boosters automatically flaring to life. _DeepGrave_ rocketed up high into the sky, aiming its rifles straight at the hordes of blue and white machines. Its two rifles rapidly sparked and bullets rained down to earth like machine gun fire. In seconds multiple machines crumbled to oblivion, their legs and body ripped to shreds.

Itsumi, Xyla, and Basher were shocked at _DeepGrave's_ effectiveness against the strange machines. The sable NEXT landed on top of one of them, crushing it under its feet to the floor. A blazing inferno engulfed the scrapped enemy, harmlessly flickering around a frightening black warrior-giant within its heart. The machines started to back way, even through they surrounded the sable NEXT 5:1.

_DeepGrave_ turned its head and spun its body around. Its wings twitched and folded over its shoulders. In a shocking flash, spears of lightning were fired off from the double-barrel laser back-cannon. They tore through a mile long column of machines, sending a rising wall of fire, smoke, and melting shrapnel into the night sky.

"W…whoa…" breathed Basher. His core suddenly rocked him in his seat. He turned to look out of his HUD, spotting a platoon of machines marching towards him and the other two NEXTs' position, "Darn it!"

_Ballistic_ spun around and rapidly fired, ignoring the fact of their invulnerability to his guns. Miraculously, the machines were easily broken by his shots. A shocked Basher quickly turned in his core to switch on his com-link.

"Hey, Xyla! Itsumi! It's payback time!" A grin tore across his lips as he ecstatically shot a few rounds of his LARE handgun into a machine's head.

Xyla nodded in acknowledgment, "Understood." _Edelweiss_ veered around and instantly fired its assault rifle. Its rounds pierced through the heads of the machines and they stumbled to their ends like a mere MT.

"A-alright," replied Itsumi, still shaken. _Queen's Mercy _staggered back to its feet, weapons ready for evening the score. It started to pick off several of the machines with its beam rifle and Gatling gun.

Shards of metal ripped off the machine's flat-shell casing and their legs collapsed under their broken support. Despite the ability to effectively destroy them, the machines greatly outnumbered the fighting NEXT and their remaining ammunition count.

"No good! There's still too many!" exclaimed Itsumi.

_DeepGrave_ swiped its right accuracy rifle across the side of a machine like a sword, cutting it in two clean pieces. Endless withdrew his rifle back to his side and fire his MARVE assault rifle to his left side. He kept firing all around him as he kept a close watch on his radar, but a flash from his right caught his attention. His gaze turned slightly and he spotted the other three NEXTs, _Ballistic_, _Edelweiss_, and _Queen's Mercy_, quickly surrounded by the machines. An anxious jerk tugged at the back of his shoulders, as he watched and heard the machine laying heavy fire on his allies. He turned back to face his main screen, his violet eyes burning brighter than ever.

"_Valkyrion_! _Soldner_!"!"

Two square pools of light opened up, in between the three NEXTs and the machines. Basher, Xyla, and Itsumi all stopped their counter-attacks, blankly staring down at the glowing pools. Rising from its aurora-filled depths, two metal giants appeared and levelled with the ground.

Basher blinked in amazement, but quickly rubbed it out of his eyes for a second and double checked, "Are those…NEXTs?!"

True enough they were Armored Core NEXTS; one bright-teal and the other dark-evergreen.

The teal one, with red and dark grey support colors, was a 03-AALIYAH model with reversed 04-ALICIA legs. Armed with a left MR-R100R combat rifle and a right 03-MOTORCOBRA sword-looking machine gun, it also had across its back a short left-sided SALINE05 spread-missile rack and a long right-sided MP-O901 four-barrelled PM missile launchers. Attached to its shoulders was a pair of snail-coiled YASMIN anti-missile flare dispersers. Its shocking white v-strip eye flashed as it awakened with a strong and ghostly aura; _Valkyrion_.

The dark-green one, with dark-blue support colors, was a LANCEL model. It had a pair of rifles, an AR-O700 uniquely designed assault rifle in its right hand and a deadly long KIKU blade fused to its left fore-arm. Its shoulder devices were SM01-SCYLLA AS missile launchers. The equipped back weapons were a left-unit CG-R500 chain-gun and a folded right-unit OGOTO grenade cannon. Its LED v-shaped visor under its helmet blared fire-orange; _Soldner._

"Where in the world did those NEXTs came out from?!" Basher muttered in confused irritation.

"Un…known…" Xyla answered.

"How did they appear from the ground like that?" Itsumi slowly shifted her stare at the flashing silhouette of _DeepGrave_, her lips whispering, "Endless?"

The two summoned NEXTs sprang forward into direct attack.

With a surge of Overboost, _Valkyrion_ shot down multiple machines and ploughed even more down within its wake. Constant volleys of scatter and PM missiles lashed out and arced into the air, falling back down to earth in a shower of destruction. Its combat rifle kept barking and its hi-powered machine gun kept chatting, both non stop in their menacing raid.

Through the air, the _Soldner_ vaulted over a squad of machines with several burst of Quick-Boost. Like a human surfer it landed onto the head of a machine, driving it flat to the ground, and used both its shambled body and inertia to skiff across the dusty plains. It twisted about, like a skateboarder would, with its main rifle raised and stung its enemies along with its merciless chain gun. A wake of destruction followed in its tracks. The wall of flames ended when the _Soldner_ leapt off its 'board' and dove forward at another machine. Commando-like, it went into full front collision and stuck its ejected blade into the machine's throat.

Basher's fingers danced as fast as Xyla could do it. His screens popped up several small windows involving communication uplinks and identification scanners. He ran examination checks over the two strange NEXTs. Their model did not appear under any active rosters of all the NEXT and Lynx in the world.

"Oi! I can't contact those pilots!" Tried as he might, he could only hear static whenever he tried to hail the two Lynxs of _Valkyrion_ and _Soldner_.

Xyla and Itsumi failed to answer. They were too drawn into the fiery devastation that swept across the fading sea of machines.

Endless skilfully twisted his controls about, his focus steady and perfect. _DeepGrave_ skidded sideways from flying by Overboost, shooting down machines in its sights like simple targets; not one single shot missing. He whirled about and Quick-Boosted to launch himself forward with unimaginable speed and reflex. _DeepGrave_ dove for a platoon of tightly grouped machines and they opened fire on his approach. The sable NEXT never fired back, but rather took the shots without his Primal Armor failing as fast as a standard NEXT. _DeepGrave_ gripped its rifles and lashed out. Like a dual-wielding knight, it swiftly tore through and sliced down the machines in its path. It spun, cut, slashed, tore, lanced, glided, vaulted, and severed every machine that dared to even look at it.

"_Soldner_! _Valkyrion_!" called out Endless. He took a moment to brush aside a few strands of his white bangs of hair from his eyebrow, "Form up!"

_Soldner_ and _Valkyrion_ were side by side, one facing the other. After they took out one machine, their eyes flashed and they turned to Endless' voice. As if hearing him, their main Boosters forced them into the air and they converged towards him.

_DeepGrave_ cleared the area with one last stroke of his rifle/sword, cutting a machine in tow horizontal halves. Just then, _Valkyrion_ and _Soldner_ landed right behind it.

Endless grinned with a nod, "Let's go!"

The three NEXTs glided across the ground until they stood back to back in a triangular formation. Their rifles and chaingun were raised and ready. Without waiting, they unleashed an unending hailstorm of bullets to their surrounding enemies.

Machines marched and fell, merely firing non-stop until their legs and body were ripped into shreds. The three NEXTs slowly circled in their formation, slowly spinning like a weak top, and pressed on their area-scattering attack. Columns of fire erupted and swallowed squad by squad of the machines, sending their ashes into the sky. Their attack only ended when one last machine was standing.

They broke off from their group with a blast of Quick-Boost. They zipped right by the sole machine as it nervously twisted left and right to find a possible target. _DeepGrave_, _Valkyrion_, and _Soldner_ halted, standing in a triangular point with that machine trapped in their center.

Their right rifles were raised and they steadied with a bone-chilling click, aimed at the machine. It shivered, still figuring out who to attack first. It barely had a chance. All three rifles snapped a short and single firecracker. In seconds the machine shattered into hundreds of pieces as three powerful rounds drilled through its flat body. After a teetering moment, it finally burst into a cloud of burning fire.

Endless calmly lowered the rifle of his NEXT, as well as _Valkyrion_ and _Soldner_. Without a word, he turned to look behind him as the other two NEXTs strode up to his side in silence.

It was a graveyard of burnt and twisted metal. What once would have been badlands filled with rough and untouched sands, were littered with the broken corpses of the machines.

Basher forced a cold gulp down his stiff throat.

Xyla only heard the sound of her chilled breathing.

Itsumi was unable to believe all the things she had just witness, unable to hear the loud voice of Lulu.

_[H-Hey, Itsumi! What just happened?]_ she frantically demanded, _[A moment ago you all started to shoot at an something; then thousands of enemies showed up in front of you; and now they're gone…WHAT'S GOING ON THERE?!]_

"I…" shivered Itsumi, "…wish I knew."

Endless closed his glowing violet eyes and took in a deep breath. He let it out in one smooth motion as he whispered, "Thanks for the help, _Valkyrion_, _Soldner_…"

Quietly, the two NEXTs by _DeepGrave's_ sides slowly faded away and vanished into thin air. Endless opened his eyes, no longer burning violet. He then perked his head up at the sound of a heavy and shaking footstep.

_Ballistic_ marched towards _DeepGrave_ from behind, its blue v-shaped LED eye glinting for a just answer. _Edelweiss_ and _Queen's Mercy_ too followed the lumbering NEXT, hoping to hear a word of truth.

"Yo, Endless!" growled Basher, after he flicked on his com-link to connect with _DeepGrave_, "I've got a bone to pick with you!"

Endless sheepishly chuckled as he turned his NEXT around to face _Ballistic_, "Yes…uh…"

"Basher! And don't you forget it!"

"Xyla Montague."

Itsumi remained quiet and patient, yet eager for an answer, "Endless…"

"Yes, Miss Freihart?"

She lowered her gaze, as if ashamed to have asked, "How did you do all that? What were those strange machines?" Itsumi lifted her gaze back up, with every ounce of courage to ask her last question, "What…what are you?"

Endless paused at her question. His reaction took everyone aback by surprise; he was chuckling with a carefree air. He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry, everyone, for not telling you straight away…but promise you won't give me a strange face…" Endless shyly grinned, "I'm an Agyle*…"

For a long and quiet moment, no one uttered a word. Only the whisper of the polluted wind could be heard, whisking away black dust from the evaporating machines that soon vanished from existence.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Weapon Data all collected from: www5f-biglobe-ne-jp/~yasuwo/confACfA-htm  
NOTE: Replace '-' with '.'


	5. Threshold to Heaven

**All **_**Armored Core for Answer**_** base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**

**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata.**

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END  
Mission 05 || [Threshold to Heaven]**

"Dr. Katsuragi?"

Shinomi Katsuragi* turned to a familiar voice behind her. She met its owner, a young intelligent girl, at the age of 19, in a white doctor's coat, who she remembered her name being Amy Miles. Shinomi returned a crisp smile.

"Yes, Amy, is the report finished?" she asked.

Amy nodded, "Yes, Dr. Katsuragi. The patient's diagnosis has been completed. Here it is." Shinomi accepted a passing file single-handedly from Amy with an eccentric and teacher-like air. She opened the file and keenly glimpsed through a layer of paper.

"Hmm…I see," finally replied Shinomi, "Well, tell the patient to avoid bacon jerky and hi-fat meat and get himself on a diet of simple dog food and biscuits."

"Understood, I'll tell Rover's owner right away," replied Amy. The young girl sharply turned, nearly swiping the tip of her blond ponytail against Shinomi's eyes. As if expecting it, she had leaned back an angle to avoid it then straightened when Amy strode off. Shinomi let out a laughing breath and continued to walk down the corridors of her hospital for animals and house-hold pets: a large but cozy veterinarian clinic.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Katsuragi," lightly bowed a passing male vet-assistant.

Shinomi nodded back with a calm and collected air, her deep blue eyes sparkling. She took a moment to comb back several strands of short silky black behind her ear. Her body frame was tall and slender, a perfect match for the age of 28 and a half. She wore a skirt that reached over her knees, a purple dress-shirt under, and a long white lab coat that fluttered in her movements. Her strides were smooth and well-honed as she traveled down the white-halls and ivory flooring of the clinic halls. A bright-copper color nametag was clipped to her coat above her heart, having engraved black letters with her name below her marked status: Head Veterinarian.

Shinomi walked passed a pair of automatic sliding doors and instantly a hail of greetings, and pleas, came over her. People of all ages approached her from every angle, with words of praises and pardons for help. Shinomi simply continued with her pace, stopped in front of a round clerk-counter, and picked up several bunches of clipped medical papers.

"Dr. Katsuragi! My darling cat is all better with its fever thanks to you!"

"Dr. Katsuragi, my dog is acting up and is causing a racket from time to time. What's wrong with it?"

"Dr. Katsuragi, can you please check my hamster first! I think she's in a lot of pain!"

A hand was held up within the surrounding swarm of people. They took one step back as Shinomi turned and dropped her hand to one side. An amused smile crept across her face as she pulled out a pair of tiny spectacles and rested them across her nose-bridge. A glint of strong intelligence transiently flickered within her eyes.

"Miss Crocker, may I see Snuffles?" she asked.

A lady took a step forward and held up her small yet fat-looking cat. It gave a lazy purr as Shinomi inspected it from every angle in silence. The crowd around her hushed their voices. She opened her jaw a little, which the cat did the same and she took a short look inside its mouth. With a nod, she stood back up and approached another person.

"Snuffles' fever may be gone, but it clearly needs sufficient exercise in order to keep its health steady. Daily exercise should do the trick." The cat heavily gulped. Shinomi paused in her steps and slightly turned to the cat, her voice hiding a light tone of authority, "And so that you don't get a fever again, Snuffles, no more mice-eating…is that understood." The cat nervously nodded its head, its tail curling around its body in fear.

Shinomi turned with a gentle grin at a dog sitting across the floor in front of her. It heavily panted and wagged its tail in excitement at the sight of the doctor. She crouched down to its height and lightly rubbed its head.

"Yeah, Teddy's always bothering either me or my wife while we're trying to finish up our work. Though he's usually occupied with the kids back home and never makes a fuss, he always barks at me for strange reasons," approached a young man.

"How's your business with those new palm-pilot products?" asked Shinomi, almost oblivious with the petting.

"Ha, booming! Just last week, my company sold over a million dollars worth to the several BFF company members. The work load's insane! I barely have time to do anything on my spare time." A wave of awe shrouded the crowded, with the young man raising his hand to bask in the glory.

"Then have you ever thought Teddy is bored nearly to the edge of insanity?" wondered Shinomi. The man froze, arms dropping in confusion.

"…Say that again?"

Shinomi stood up and fully turned to the young man, while scratching behind the dog's ears, "It's because you are so busy with your business, you totally forgot who Teddy needs the most…you."

"M-Me?"

"Don't you remember, he's been your loyal companion ever since you graduated from university 9 years ago. His only closest friend he wishes to play with, is you." The dog barked in support to Shinomi's words. She placed hand on her hip with a grin, "Bradley, I understand business is important to you. But you wanted to raised a dog since you got your degree…I think you should hold some responsibility in sharing your life with Teddy…Besides, don't work yourself to death, you're already a billionaire."

The words struck the man in his face. A faint grin crossed his lips as his dog stared at its master in concern.

"I guess you're right, hah…I got carried away a bit…"

Shinomi gave the man a familiar look of intrigue, "A bit?"

"Okay, a lot on a grand scale…happy?"

"Ask Teddy."

The man grinned and turned to his dog. It perked up on all fours and barked cheerfully, "Come one Teddy, we've got catching up to do." With that, the dog and its master waltzed right out of the clinic with looks of content.

Shinomi brushed her hands together with a smile. She then turned to a little girl, who held onto an exhausted looking hamster in the palm of her hands.

"What seems to be the trouble, Kayla?" asked Shinomi.

"Ruby is sick," the little girl pouted, "she won't eat or drink…I don't know what's wrong…" Shinomi took a close look at the small hamster in the girl's hand. She stroked a slender finger across the side of the hamster. It gave out a weary shiver. Shinomi smiled once again.

"Ruby is pregnant," she answered. The girl blinked.

"What?"

"She's going to have babies," said Shinomi. The girl instantly brightened and lightly jumped with glee. Shinomi gingerly took the hamster within her arms and turned around, with a loud voice, "Carl!"

A faint snoring sound snapped awake.

"HAI, SENSEI?"

A figure rose up from under large covers of loose paper, spilling more across the desk and ground. It sprang up to full height, revealing himself to be a male that stood behind another counter within the clinic's foyer. He had short brown hair, had a pair of unevenly thick glasses, a tired but ready face, and too wore a lab coat.

Carl Diggory* quickly spun around from his loose and swivelling chair to the call of Shinomi, "Y-yes, sensei! What is it?"

"Pregnant hamster; pass it onto Patrick," ordered Shinomi.

Carl nodded with a comb of his dishevelled hair. He carefully took the hamster in his palms and quickly bolted in a run.

Shinomi called out to him, "No running in the halls!"

With that, Carl nearly slipped on his approach to a nearby elevator. The crowd and the girl sharply took a breath in, while Shinomi slapped a hand across her quiet face.

[******]

Shinomi sat across her office chair, within her private laboratory/office. It was wide and spacious with all sorts of biological and medical research and diagnostic devices that were idly standing-by for future use. She lightly rubbed her temples with a pair of fingers from each hand. Sitting back, she pulled off her small spectacles and closed her eyes for one quiet moment.

The silence was shattered when the door accidentally burst open. Shinomi reawakened her eyes, calm and passive, as she heard footsteps stumbled into her lab. It was Carl who braced himself against a nearby metal lab table. He looked haggard; as if he had just ran up 14 flights of stairs in one go.

"Sumimasen, Katsuragi-sensei!" gulped Carl, in almost fluent Japanese, "I didn't mean to be late for your lab lesson…"

Shinomi eyebrow secretly cringed with irritation, from being startled from her hopeful nap, but her grin simply widened.

"Actually, Carl, you're 20 minutes early…"

Carl sprung his head up with surprise, "What?" He glimpsed at his watch and instantly growled under his shaky breath, "Oh, it broke again! Stupid short hand is always stuck…Sumimasen, sensei…"

Shinomi lightly laughed, "You don't need to communicate with me in Japanese, Carl. English will do just fine…"

Carl nodded, "Hai…I mean yes, sensei…" Shinomi laughed under her breath again, eyes closing for a short rest. Carl continued as he rubbed his hands against his coat, "Uh…the preparations for this afternoon's lab with the trainee vets are completed." Shinomi nodded as Carl went on, "Lab 5's cleaned out. The resumes you wanted me to sort are ready for reading as well. And I've sent the memo to everyone in the clinic about the changes you wanted to make." Shinomi nodded again, but from Carl's perspective it looked like she was not listening. Her eyes opened, feeling slightly relieved for the time being.

"So how goes your thesis report?" she asked.

"Eh? Oh – Completed, just last night!" answered Carl with a start.

"I see…who do you aim to present it to…" Carl tried to think of a name, but remained silent, "You haven't gone that far into planning, have you?" Carl drooped his head in defeat, "It's alright, Carl. There's no need to rush. What do you plan to officially become?"

"Uh…possibly a full-fledge scientist…I hope…"

"What field?"

"Eh…"

"Micro-biology?" wondered Shinomi. Carl slowly shook his head, unsure, "Quantum Physics?" He shook his head, "Advanced technology and engineering research?" Again, Carl hung his head.

"Not sure…too many possibilities…"

"Why don't you try them all?"

Carl shot his head up, perplexed, "Eh?"

Shinomi grinned and stood up from her chair, "Why not give yourself a chance to try a wide range of fields? You can get a lot of experience and possibly put it to practise in everyday life or other research…" Carl remained quiet as Shinomi wandered about the lab like a teacher.

"Physics, biology, chemistry, engineering, computer science…" continued Shinomi and she turned on the spot to him, "Such knowledge can prove to be quite helpful and is guaranteed to open a large amount of doors to opportunity in the research and work force…don't you agree?"

"L-like…" gulped Carl, "you, sensei?"

Shinomi's expression never changed, but her grin widened, "In a sense, that's correct…"

Carl shook his head, aimed at himself, "Katsuragi-sensei, you are an amazing person…" He plopped onto a tall lab chair and folded his arms across the black surface of an experimentation counter in front of him, "Graduating at the age of 20, with high merits. Became a doctor in the study of physics and science. Have an extensive background in mechanical engineering…Developed a superior anti-hacking program for GA America…You even run your own vet clinic."

"Mm-hmm…To run a veterinarian clinic here is just one of the many things I wanted to do when I was young…" smiled Shinomi. She approached a nearby counter with a coffee-machine and started to brew fresh coffee with it, as she continued, "I found engineering to be quite interesting so I went on a trial course…eventually I got hooked to it. As for the anti-hacker program, I just took the copy GA had and made some adjustments in their flaws that they seemed to have failed in identifying." She started to pour the readied coffee into a pair of cups, as she heard Carl's reply.

"Hm…"

"You can say, for example, being a policeman has their own adventure and excitement, catching criminals and solving murder puzzles; an athlete with their rush of adrenaline in executing performance to their maximum extent. As for me?" She lightly laughed and picked up the two cups. She turned and approached Carl from one side, who had his head in his folded arms. Shinomi gently placed the cup next to Carl's elbow, "My adventure and excitement comes from science…Wouldn't you agree, Carl?" A snore answered her, causing her expression to twist in confusion. She stepped to one side and crouched down, staring at Carl.

He was fast asleep, his glasses awkwardly resting against his lying heard on his arms. Shinomi gave a half-grin and shook her head, like a parent to their child. She placed down her cup across the counter, gingerly took off Carl's glasses, and pulled off her lab coat to rest it across his shoulders. In a motherly fashion, she lightly patted his head as he was fast asleep.

"Poor, Carl. It must be hard to support yourself and your sick mother, isn't it…" sighed Shinomi, "it must be twice as hard to work as my assistant…" she pulled her hand away from Carl and gave him a smile, "Get some rest, you earned it…"

Shinomi stood back up to her full height. Her hand picked up her cup of coffee and she approached a far section of her lab's blinded window. Careful not to let the light glare over Carl, she twisted the rod to open the blinds.

A panoramic view of a city lay before her like a three-dimensional painting behind a layer of glass. The buildings were all clad in metal armor, standing tall and proud across the grid-like streets of the city. Hundreds of specs of wandering people could be seen, a mix of colors that blended yet moved as individual drops.

It looked busy today, thought Shinomi. She stared up at the sky, a thick sheet of iron and steel. She then remembered, as she had always reminded herself; this city could never see the sky, for it was already in it.

Shinomi grinned with a thought, "Life never ceases to be interesting in Cradle 12."

[******]

A pretty anchorwoman, behind a crystal clear holographic screen, lightly straightened her papers. She had appeared across a giant television across the face of a skyscraper, hanging over a massive city intersection. She cleared her throat and stared out through her digital and enchanted window.

'_[The Conflict between the League and the Guild has increased in the past few days. Armed struggles have been identified throughout the continents of the surface below, as they continue to fight for control over the resources for the Cradles. The League neither the Guild has any words to say on this topic, but it appears that they are at a never-ending stalemate in their war…]'_

Shinomi strode up to a corner of the intersection's sidewalk and stopped. She lightly sipped her vanilla milkshake through a straw as she stared up at the anchorwoman in the holographic television. She took a moment to gaze around her.

The people simply continued walking, none of them having a care for such troubling news. If you could call them troubling, thought Shinomi. She searched through the back of her mind, knowing fully well the lifestyle of humanity has drastically altered when the Cradle System were born.

Earth was nothing but a dying planet from the poison that has spread throughout its body. The National Dismantlement War had already destroyed whatever bit of life the planet had: forests, jungles, mountains, and so on. Nothing was left but the desert and the ocean themselves, but even they are lethally tainted. From the war, pollution broke out and infected everything in its path. The same went to the discovery of Kojima energy.

Even though a scientist herself, Shinomi could not understand the theory or the concept of such dangerous element created by humankind. True, it was a breakthrough for the sake of energy, but it also cost life of millions as it had radiation properties that were beyond control. Even worse, rolled Shinomi's eyes, they even used it for war.

She halted her thoughts right there, not wanting to pursue it any longer. Shinomi stared up at the anchorwoman again, who still continued her report from the surface until it shifted to the weather. A sigh escaped Shinomi's lips, marked with crimson lipstick, as she chewed on her straw.

The Cradles were the solution to the pollution problem, she continued with her thoughts. They were believed to be the cure, but still. Shinomi sighed as she walked along the sea of people across the crowded streets. It was only temporary, as long as pollution on the surface continues to grow.

Shinomi came to a halt, among the swarming crowds. She ignored everything around her as her mind wandered off instead of her feet. Everything was different while living in the Cradles, compared to the surface. In one way to her, it was a relief. In another, it felt unfair to those who are still stuck back on ground.

Why does she ponder on such trivial things while she lives this life of safe luxury, she asked herself. She faintly laughed. Maybe because she was once born and lived on the planet's rough surface, before her beloved mother and father did everything they can to make her achieve such safety and luxury.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

_**Se-n-se-i**_**:** It is a Japanese term and suffix to refer someone of teacher/mentor status.

_**Su-mi-ma-se-n**_**:** Means 'Excuse me' or 'forgive me'.

Weapon Data all collected from: www5f-biglobe-ne-jp/~yasuwo/confACfA-htm  
NOTE: Replace '-' with '.'


	6. Thy Fellowship

**All _Armored Core for Answer_ base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**

**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata.**

**

* * *

****Armored Core NEVER END  
****Mission 06 || [Thy Fellowship]**

Lucas Montgomery* carefully hefted two large stacks of boxes that were cramped with supplies. As he treaded across the cold metal floors of the _Haven Nazeraith's_ main hangar bay, he approached the open rear end of an awaiting freight truck. On his last step, he tumbled forward and dropped the boxes onto a clear space within the truck's storage chamber. Not waiting to give himself a chance to sigh, he hurried back to the source of where the boxes were passed out from large Rosenthal convoy transports, its callsign: _Algorica_.

"Itsumi, I'm back!"

Itsumi perked up half of her body from picking up a nearby box. She was standing at mid-height of a pyramid of supply crates and storage boxes. A smile stretched on her face, moist from hard work and exhaustion.

"Okay Lucas! Here!" She carefully leaned over her balanced position across the uneven pyramid and pulled out an armful of a crate. She passed them down to another helping technician and it finally reached the open arms of Lucas. He grunted under the weight, one that was slightly heavier than his previous carry.

"I can take another one!" he huffed, trying to hide the strain in his voice.

"Are you sure?" wondered Itsumi. Lucas nodded, unable to speak for that moment. Another box was passed down and it was topped onto the crate in his arms. He felt gravity leaping onto his hold like a naughty child, "Are you alright?"

"Posi…tive…" uttered Lucas. He turned about and struggled to keep his pace quick and steady. Itsumi could not help a thankful smile at her long time friend and old high-school classmate. That was when she remembered something, "Lulu?"

"WHAT?!" Itsumi turned behind her at the straining voice. Lulu stumbled from side to side in her leather boots, her thin arms wrapped around a box larger than her body.

"Be careful not to hurt yourself!" called back Itsumi, worried. Lulu angrily blew away a loose strand of her blue hair from her sights. A grimace tore her cosmetically-balanced face. She blinked a drop of sweat from her eye as she fought against the box's weight in frustration.

"Easier done than said!" she grumbled. Suddenly, an angle of the box slipped out of her hand and caused her to fumble. She instantly lost control of her footing and fell over with a shriek. Itsumi flinched from the sound of a dull thud. Slowly, she reopened her eyes and turned to check on her friend. Lulu lied face-down across the ground, the boxes content of tightly-sealed food, water cans, towels, and other sorts buried the field operator like a blanket. Itsumi could not help but cover her mouth in silent horror as Lulu's body shook with bottled rage, "I _**hate**_ manual labour…"

Itsumi quickly clambered down the pyramid of boxes, switching places with another assisting convoy personnel. Her shoes touched the cold flooring as she stared at Lulu. The young woman held up a hand, as if to tell Itsumi to stay put. Without words, Lulu pushed herself up to her knees and, in silent rage, started to pick up the box's content from the floor. The Lynx gave a sigh of relief, but also a short shivering feeling from estimating the anger level of her field operator. A nervous laugh subconsciously left her lips.

Lucas leaned against another nearby box and started to pick it up. To his surprise, it was even heavier than his last round. Nonetheless, he used every ounce of his strength to pull it up into his arms. Successfully nesting the box in his arms, he rounded about to face the truck.

"Lucas," called out Itsumi. The young hangar technician faltered to a stop and turned with a shaky gaze.

"Y-yes, Itsumi?" he uttered. Itsumi approached him from one side and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Have you seen the others?"

"Wh-what others?"

"Oh sorry. The other Lynx pilots I came back with. Where did they go?"

Despite the painful burden in Lucas' arms, he patiently turned and gestured a nod toward a nearby office, "When they got back, I noticed two unfamiliar Lynx drag another Lynx in there. One of them sure looked angry and the one dragged inside looked just as nervous…" A pale look flashed across Itsumi's face, not as pale as Lucas's though. He patiently waited for anything else, as he felt the strength sapped right out of his body

"O-oh. Thank you…" returned Itsumi. She scurried off as fast as she could towards the door. Lucas took in a deep breath and fought against the urge to let go of the boxes as he trudged back to his work.

Itsumi appeared in front of the windows of the office that Lucas showed her. To her surprise, the windows were blocked by closed blinds. A cold feeling crawled across her shoulders and arms at several thoughts in her mind. She made her way towards the door, but never held out her hand to open it. After a slight moment of hesitation, she leaned forward. Her ear closed in on the cold face of the door, painlessly singing a tingle across the warm rim of her earlobe. She softened her breath and listened carefully. Before she knew it, a loud and angry voice blasted a stinging ring against her hearing.

[******]

"Alright, start talking!"

"UWAH!"

Endless was thrown back by an overpowering force and landed in a flimsy fold-up chair. He swung forward from the teetering chair, just as a thin table was kicked forward to stop right in front of him. A lamp across that very table swayed back and forth, still brightly shining and unharmed. Finally, a gloved hand slapped the table surface and a fiery young man leaned in for the kill.

"Don't play coy on me, Endless! I know hundreds of ways to make tough guys like you crack! Now start singing!"

Endless blinked as he stared at the deadly brown eyes of Basher. His burning orange hair was just as wild as his expression. He wore a close-built Jean jacket, a dark yellow shirt underneath, and wore dim-blue pants. He and Endless' height were on nearly equal turns, possibly Endless being half an inch taller. Even though there was such difference, it never occurred in the situation as Basher angrily glared at Endless dead in the eye. The young white haired and violet eyed Lynx practically shrunk in his seat, retreating from a deadly opposition.

"Um…" he uttered, "I really can't sing that well…"

"I MEANT TELL THE BLASTED TRUTH!"

Endless shrunk back a bit more from the burning killing intent he felt coming from Basher's deadly gaze. He could not help a shaking in his voice, "S-sorry…"

"Basher…"

The interrogator perked his head up at the expressionless voice and turned to it. He met the dichromate eyes, one right golden-yellow and one left lifeless-blue, of a young woman. Her hair was dark grey and they curled out across the sides of her head, lightly windswept. Her complexion was pale and emotionless, a short-length white scarf wrapped around her neck and concealing the lower half of her face. She wore a black crop-top shirt that exposed a section of her midriff and a pair of bulky light brown khaki pants. Altogether, she had a sickly thin figure, but nonetheless alive. She watched Basher and Endless from a distance, standing near a corner in the small room with her arms by her side, hands covered with fingerless gloves.

"Yeah," nodded Basher with a grimace, "I know, I know…I'll _try_ to go easy on him…" His head snapped back on Endless with a hostile look. His hand slapped an edge of the lamp's heading, causing it to spin on an axis to glare directly at the nervous Lynx. A stinging flash struck Endless' eyes and he flinched from the brightness. The interrogation continued, "What are you, Endless Evarg?"

Endless blinked, "I thought I told you…I'm an Agyle."

A vein cringed across Basher's forehead, "Then what, please do tell, is an—"

A pair of voices echoed from behind the closed door of the office.

"_Itsumi! What are you eavesdropping for?!"_

"_EEK!"_ The door burst open and a slender body stumbling through into the room. Itsumi braced against a nearby wall, a haggard look on her pale face as she panted from shock, "Lulu, don't do that!"

Lulu stepped into the office from the doorway, pushing it shut behind her before crossing her arms, "It's not my fault you're easily frightened…"

Endless bolted up from his seat at the sight of Itsumi, "Ah, Miss Freihart." A hand gripped his shoulder and forced him sitting back down.

Basher leaned over the table and glared into Endless' eyes an inch away from his face, "Stay – put!" Endless rapidly nodded, still he glimpsed at Itsumi from the corner of his eyes.

"Are you alright, Miss Freihart?"

Itsumi felt a bit bashful from Endless' concern, an unintentional pause lingering between her words, "I'm…alright…thank you…" Basher ignored the change of topic and diverted back to its original route.

"Like I asked, what is an Agyle?" he demanded, "Some new organization for highly trained Lynx or what?"

"No, a celestial being," Endless casually answered. Silence filtered the room. Even Lulu could only purse her lips with a waiting expression.

"Say that again?" Basher requested.

"An Agyle is a celestial being created by God to protect the Earth from darkness…"

"Celestial…being?" whispered Xyla, expressionless.

"An Agyle?" Itsumi repeated.

Endless nodded.

"What baloney!" muttered Lulu. She too leaned across the table next to Basher and glared straight at Endless, just as merciless, "Why make up such garbage when you could have said you were an angel and then end of story; so that I can give you a good piece of my mind for ditching Itsumi!"

"L-Lulu!"

Endless chuckled, surprising everyone in the room, "I'm no Angel…Agyles like me can never be compared to Angels, they're too perfect and too important." An eerie feeling started to creep up Basher and Lulu's spine.

"An Agyle, you say?" asked Basher, voice steady.

"Yes."

"Okay…" nodded the interrogator, "Alright. Let's just say – for only one moment – that what you say is true." Lulu straightened to her full height and gave Basher an appalled stared, but he merely waved it off, "Can you please explain several of these points."

"Um…okay…" answered Endless. Basher straightened his back, taking in a deep breath along the way.

"What were those machines?" The question he asked made everyone on their guard. Itsumi kept quiet as her eyes lingered anxiously on Endless.

A calm grin crossed his tender face, "_**Iron Ghosts**_…"

"_**Iron Ghosts**_?" wondered Lulu.

Endless nodded, "The ones that you've encountered back at the canyon were classified as _Blue Hunters_. They act as mechanized infantry."

"How did they survive our attacks before you appeared?" asked Itsumi.

"The Iron Ghosts have a special ability of Shade: a type of cloaking field that works as both anti-radar detection and something protective like Primal Armor, but they can cancel out high amounts of damage."

"Purple wave?" asked Xyla, taking a step next to Basher.

"Hmm? Oh that…" Endless could not help a sheepish chuckle and he rubbed the back of his head, "Uh…It's an ability of mine. I can disrupt the cloaking field and nullify them completely, making them equal targets as to MTs or Normals…"

"You?" wondered Basher, his finger tapping across the table.

"Yes. It's one of my powers an Agyle."

Basher slowly nodded, but his glare never slackened. Itsumi shuffled her feet on the spot, slowly taking in all the information. Despite the answers given, there were even more questions she wanted to know. Seeing that Endless was already cornered by Basher, Xyla, and Lulu, she did not dare add a comment. Basher continued, "Explain what are these '_**Iron Ghosts**_'? I've never seen them before and I am just as sure they had never existed until this very day."

Endless hesitated, "I can't tell you exactly what they are yet…I'm not sure it is the proper time to be giving out such information…I'm still looking into it." His eyes softened, as if upset, "I could say that…those who have ever come across them were exterminated on sight…" The air went cold and no one moved. Only Itsumi's breath quickened nervously as Endless added, "They…never leave a survivor behind…"

"What about you?"

"Hmm?" wondered the white-haired boy. He gazed up to meet with Basher's, a dark look glinting in his eyes.

"How come you're talking to us right now and not some walking, talking corpse?"

"I am an Agyle…my duty is to protect humanity on Earth from the darkness. The _**Iron Ghosts**_ are affiliated with that darkness…I am here to destroy them and to stop those who are responsible…"

"Who?" added Xyla.

"Again, I wish to confirm things for sure before I give out any more information…"

A pair of hands gripped Endless by the collar and yanked him off his seat. Endless stared into the burning brown eyes of Basher, his hold on the violet-eyed Lynx unyielding.

"Quit playing around with us, you blasted crackpot!" barked Basher. Itsumi gasped, not knowing what to do. Xyla silently took several steps back, but Lulu only took one waiting step backwards from the struggle, "Stop blabbering lies and tell us straight off the bat! There is no such thing as an Angel—"

"Agyle…"

"SHUT UP! Like I said there is no such thing as…whatever you are, got it!" Basher's glare intensified to the point where it could cut through any person's iron will. Yet, Endless never faltered, "Say that you are some high-trained Lynx from some secret organization and those machines are nothing but new toys for some sick-minded corporation!"

"I'm sorry," replied Endless, unfazed, "I can't lie."

"WHY YOU!" Basher reeled back a right fist, preparing it for the hardest punch he has ever thrown. That was when a pair of frail, weak, and slim hands coiled around his arm.

"DON'T!"

"LET GO OF ME, ITSUMI!" demanded Basher. Itsumi pulled against Basher's arm as hard as she could, but he was too strong. Even her body weight could not effectively work as an anchor.

"You can't do this, Basher!" she cried.

Lulu staggered back in surprise, unsure whether to help or not, "Itsumi!"

"I can and I will…" grumbled Basher, "this creep is a disgrace to every Lynx that ever existed. I mean, he can't even pull of a mission without running off!" Endless's mouth remained closed, his eyes quietly on Basher's. It was as if Basher's remarks never affected him, "Now, let go Itsumi! I don't want to hurt you as well!"

"You dare?" growled Lulu, hands on hips and ready to strike at Basher, "I'm with you on Endless-ditching-his-wing-mate and all, **but** harm _one _hair on Itsumi's head and you're done for metal-head!"

"Metal-head? Who are you calling a metal-head?!" snapped Basher, still gripping Endless.

"You, who else?! Screws-for-brains!" grimaced Lulu.

"Please! Stop fighting!" Itsumi desperately shrieked, "It's not his fault." Endless was taken aback, "He told me of those machines that were about to attack us and I trusted him to have him leave my side! It's not his fault, now please stop fighting each other!"

"Not until I make things clear to crackpot here!"

"Basher…" whispered Xyla.

"Don't pester me, Xyla, I know what I'm—"

"Miss Freihart…" Everything came to a freeze. Basher's expression staggered between the fault-line of rage and confusion. Itsumi still dangled herself against Basher's right arm, not wanting to risk anything if she released him, "Forgive me…" Itsumi's eyes open, perplexed and surprised. Slowly, her head turned to stare up at Endless. A saddening expression smoothed out his calm smile, "Forgive me for abandoning you like that…Basher is right." The Lynx perked his head up at the call of his name, "I guess…I get too carried away in fighting the _**Iron Ghosts**_ from others…I tend to forget the laws of actions in this world…"

Itsumi was silent. It was not out of confusion, but because of a painful pang that struck her heart from his apology. She saw the sincerity in the young man's violet eyes, dulled out from shame.

"Endless, I…never blamed you…"

A thin hand rested across Basher's tensing left arm. His head snapped around, but his expression shattered when his eyes met a pair of yellow and blue ones.

"Basher…" whispered Xyla. A Quiet moment lingered between the two Lynx. Finally, Basher let out an exhausted sigh. His fingers unlatched off of Endless, as he instantly dropped back in his seat. Basher took in a deep and long breath, calming his very nerves.

"Okay, Xyla, I got it…" A shameful look glinted across his eyes when he gazed at her, "Sorry…" Xyla shook her head in return. Basher turned to stared down at his constricted arm, "How long are you going to hold onto me like that?"

"Eh?" Itsumi snapped her hands back to her side, nervously retreating from Basher. He simply strode back up to the table and leaned across it once again.

"Okay, Endless. Let's still pretend that what you say is true…" Basher let out an angry breath, but never boiled his emotions, "You mentioned there were more of you. More of your kind of…of…"

"Agyles?"

Basher slowly nodded, almost tensing his neck, "Yes…yes, Angels…" Endless wanted to correct him, but Basher held up a hand, "Tell me, where are they?"

"Who?" Basher's eyes narrowed on Endless. It only took several seconds for the young man to get the idea of his interrogator's question, "Oh! Oh…" Hesitation clouded Endless' expression, as everyone in the room waited. What he said next sent a sting to Itsumi's heart.

Endless Evarg grinned, hiding the sadness in his eyes, "In this world…I am the only one here…"

[******]

Lucas staggered forward and shoved the last crate into the truck with a grunt. With a satisfying thud, he brushed the dust of his hands, "Phew…finally done…Now _Haven Nazeraith_ will have plenty of food and supplies to last for the rest of the year."

Suddenly, a small person bumped against his back. Despite the size, he felt his feet stagger forward under his balance. He turned around, spotting a small girl striding off without an apology. She wore a simple yellow dress with a small jean jacket on top. Her hair was halfway way across her back, with two short ponytails that trailed over the rest of her hair. Overall, her entire height was no taller than below his shoulders.

"S-sorry about that, little girl," called out Lucas.

The girl's feet came to an abrupt halt. Curiosity swept over Lucas. The girl slowly turned by half, showing her thin folded arms across her chest. A hostile hazel glare examined Lucas from afar. For some unknown reason, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Without warning a pair of slender and tiny hands reached out and gripped him by the collar of his technician's suit. A single yank was enough for him to bend forward down to the height of the girl's head.

"Who are you calling a _'little girl'_" she snarled.

"Ah-hah-hah…I mean _miss_…" Though Lucas worked hard to finish packing the distributing trucks, it did not make him break a sweat until he met this girl. She was aggressively frightening as her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.

"Where is he?" she slowly demanded.

Lucas blinked the drops of sweat from his head, "Wh-who?"

"Basher Orhtavis!"

Without hesitation, Lucas pointed to where she needed to go.

[******]

Basher sneezed from a chill that ran up his spine. He took a moment to sniff and to shake his head, "Aw man…something's not right."

"I'm sorry if all this…don't make too much sense," replied Endless.

Basher shrugged, "Nah…it's just this creepy feeling I'm having. Your answers only make me irritated, crackpot."

"My apologies…"

"So," Basher changed the topic, "You mentioned you're on your own…in this world? What, are there other worlds or something?" Itsumi, Xyla, and Lulu all turned straight at the young man sitting before them, silence followed.

Endless opened his mouth to answer, but another knocking tapped across the door's surface. Everyone but Basher turned to the sound, as a vein throbbed across his forehead.

"Geez, I can barely understand what you're saying and now I have to deal with more distractions…" he muttered. He turned to the door with a shout, "Get lost! We're busy!" Just as Basher turned back to Endless the knocking returned, slow and deliberate. The fiery Lynx had enough. He bolted towards the door with a deadly look, "OI! I said we're busy!"

Just as Basher reached for the door, Xyla sensed something; something very dangerous, "Wait…"

The door wretched open and Basher poked his head out of the office's sanctuary.

"AMSCRAY YA PIPSQU—"

"BIG BROTHER!"

A female dress shoe shot through the air like a bullet and collided straight into Basher's face. Itsumi sharply gasped, unable to even scream; Lulu's perked up her eyebrows with a blank expression; Xyla lowered her head, as if ashamed in warning a second too late; Endless watched in silent perplexity. The force of the shoe sent Basher rearing. His entire body crashed to the ground, rolled across the ground – narrowly missing Lulu's legs – away from the door, and slammed into the face of the wall. Paralyzed, his body sagged down to sit across the floor. The shoe slowly peeled off his complexion, with a little help of gravity, revealing a red footprint painted across his face.

A figure hopped passed the office doorway on one leg. It was a young girl in a yellow dress and jean jacket. She hand her hands to her hips, but sometimes braced against the door to balance herself on one foot. Her other foot was missing a matching dress shoe. A dark and deadly glare was carved over her small and round baby-like face.

"Who in the blasted…" Basher gagged when his sight re-focused, spine instantly sparkling lightning, "M-Mi-Mi-Mi-MINA?!

"Big brother!" groaned Mina Orhtavis*, "What are you doing here?!"

"The same question I want to ask you!" Basher retorted. Mina hopped over on one leg, staggering, yet gracefully, and held out an open hand. Basher groaned and placed a hand on hers. She whipped it back, thrusting again away from his palm.

"Shoe!" she barked. Irritation throbbed within Basher's head. He held up the shoe and started to squeeze it in his hand. Mina gasped and frantically lashed out her reach for it, "Dummy! That's very expensive and my utmost favourite! Now give it back!"

"Make me, short—" A shoeless foot with a white sock stomped onto Basher's face, instantly silencing him. While keeping her balance, Mina pried her shoe out of Basher's frozen hand. She stuck her tongue out at him in absolute spite.

"Mina…" whispered Xyla. The fiery girl perked her head up and turned, instantly as happy as if it were her Birthday.

"Xyla! You're okay!" Xyla nodded, before shocked to receive a hug from the one-foot-hopping Mina. They parted, with Xyla's cheeks lightly tinged red but Mina never noticed, "That's good to hear! I was so worried what had happened back at the canyon!" A scared and confused look crossed her face, "I couldn't get it! All of a sudden you were surrounded by bad guys and poof they're gone!"

"Unknown…"

Mina grinned, "I though you might say that. Don't worry, big brother will tell us all about it. Come on!" In a single move, she slipped her delicate shoe back on her shoeless foot and properly stood on both feet. Her small hand gripped the back of the unconscious Basher's collar. With a yank, she started to single-handedly drag him out of the office without trouble. Xyla followed closely behind the two in emotionless silence. A grimace ripped against Mina's lips "You've got a lot of nerve to force me in splitting up with you, big brother!" With that Mina and Basher disappeared passed the door.

Xyla stopped. She turned around to face the others and gave a light bow, "Good bye."

Lulu merely raised an eyebrow.

"Um…good bye…" lightly waved Itsumi. Xyla turned about and left the room after Mina. Confusion spun within the Itsumi's head, almost incomprehensible.

"I'm sorry, Miss Freihart, if this is too overwhelming…" Itsumi jumped out of her dishevelled spot to a soothing, yet sad, voice. She and Lulu turned to one last person the in the room: Endless. He had his head shyly lowered, his gaze timid, "I understand that my truth is…unusual. That is why I've learned to keep it to myself unless I must say so. Forgive me for…abandoning you during the last mission…" Lulu fully turned about, her grimace opening to speak. Itsumi placed the back of her hand on her friend's mouth, sealing her silent.

"Endless?" she asked with a clear voice. Hesitantly, the young man nodded. A tender smile grew on Itsumi's lips, causing Endless to rise from his state of gloom, "Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?" Lulu's eyes widen as they dangerously locked onto to Itsumi, but the patient Lynx practically ignored them and waited for a hopeful answer.

Endless felt a refreshing sense of relief wash through his loosening body. He too grinned, back as his cheery self, "I would love to."


	7. Right Hand of God

**All **_**Armored Core for Answer**_** base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**

**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by Emerald Sonata. **

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END  
****Mission 07 || [Right Hand of God]**

Delilah Banquette* sat straight in her chair, a crisp and collected aura being given off from her well honed posture. She was 27 years old with her hair raised short and pale violet, well combed to give it an orderly and mature demeanour. Her creamy-peach colored skin was smooth and delicate, a pair of thin glasses resting perfectly across her nose-bridge in front of her dark blue eyes. The very face of hers held nothing but a passive expression. She was donned in a uniform of a high-status office-lady: a wrinkle-less plain grey suit, black and white stripped dress shirt, a short knee-length grey skirt, and sleek black high-heels. Her thin and tender fingers, without the slightest speck of nail polish, flipped through an inch-thick stack of papers as she read them off one by one.

"Our company status has increased over the past few years, covering the losses since we broke off from the League of Corporations. Despite the heavy decrease of employee numbers from several crucial departments, the remaining workforces have doubled their efforts and are continuing to contribute their support to the company. Armored Core weaponry development has returned back on schedule, allowing us to begin on several new projects without delay. As well…"

Her voice was clipped short, waiting for a particular reply. None came. She raised her passive gaze from her papers and looked up ahead. A pause followed, "Mr. Rosenthal? Are you awake?"

"Who said I was not, my dear?" A pair of glittering emerald eyes opened. They belonged to Artemai Rosenthal 7th*, a 29 year old man, with hazel brown hair and clad in a plain white on black business suit, plus a shiny blue tie. His lips were lightly pressed against his folded hands, elbows anchored across his marble-top office desk. The shoulders he possessed were hunched, leaned forward against his desk, as if he was in deep thought. The man's back straightened, revealing his charming and graceful face. A slightly cocky, dreamy, and suave air hovered over him as he sat back more comfortably in his swivelling leather seat. With his handsome grin, a poisonously cheerful atmosphere was radiated around him, "What makes you think that I would fall asleep to your lovely voice?"

Delilah never answered, her eyes dropping back to her papers. She started over, in a cold and clear tone, "I will repeat again, sir. Rosenthal Corporations have recovered their profits and status since breaking away from—"

"You look different today. I wonder what it is?" grinned Artemai, his eyes fixed on Delilah's. As if her employer said nothing, the secretary continued on.

"Though we are short of hands for several production rates, we will eventually be able to complete them at the appointed—"

"Is it your suit? You do look stunning in one, as always."

"…Sales have dropped by 2%, nothing harmful as we—"

"No-no…it must your glasses. Did you get new glasses?"

"…Resources have strengthened since our trading and relations with Interior Union and BFF. Thanks to them we—"

"Hm-hmm…It _has_ to be your perfume…Are you using the new perfume I gave you?"

"…"

"Well?"

"…"

"…You threw it away again, didn't you?"

Delilah kept her posture as frozen as a block of ice, before glimpsing up, "…Shall I go over the proceedings one more time, Mr. Rosenthal?"

Artemai gave a sigh of defeat and plopped back in his chair, "No-no…that's fine." His eyes took a moment to look else where.

The man and woman both sat within the heart of a wide and spacious office, as comfortable as a small condo. The entire room was shaped in an arcing banner-style, with a large window screen that viewed the outside scenery like a painting. His fingers rubbed his forehead's temples, a headache laughing at his failed attempt of holding a conversation _**he**_ hoped to have.

That was when he remembered something and sat back up in his seat, now serious, "Oh, by the way, how did _Algorica_ do?"

Delilah quickly flipped through the papers, all in deep thought. This somewhat captivated Artemai, drawing him to dreamily watch her with dazzled eyes. Of course…

"With all due respect, Mr. Rosenthal, could you please stop staring at me like that…" replied Delilah, still searching through the pages without a pause and a closed heart.

Artemai simply returned a faint grin, "Of course…sure thing, Deli…"

"As well, could you not call me _Deli_."

"…Alright…" The headache came back to stomp on the man's pride again.

Delilah founded the page and she flipped the rest about to begin her report.

"Convoy _Algorica_ has safely arrived at _Haven Nazeraith_. As we speak, convoy personnel are distributing the cargo and provisions for the Haven's resource management facilities."

Artemai let out a long sigh, "That's good to hear." His toned then deepened however, "What about those enemy encounters?"

"The Lynxs Basher Magnum and Xyla Montague, charged in escorting the convoy, have yet to return a debriefing back to us. However, we have received multiple eye-witness accounts directly from the members of _Algorica_."

"Fire away."

"The enemies attacked multiple times. Each contained an abnormal amount of attacking units, consisting of Normals and MTs, having attacked the convoy from time and again against escorting NEXTs, _Ballistic_ and _Edelweiss_. _Algorica_ and the two NEXTs have received significant casualties, but fortunately not a single transport was lost or taken. From what has been recorded, the enemy forces had continued to strike even when the two extra NEXTs we later hired, _Queen's Mercy_ and _DeepGrave_, arrived to support the escorts."

"Hold it…" paused Artemai, "Did you say _DeepGrave_?"

"Yes," nodded Delilah, looked up at Artemai in the eye – for once curious of his reaction, "_Queen's Mercy_'s pilot, Itsumi Freihart, chose _DeepGrave_'s pilot, Endless Evarg, as her wing-mate for the mission we had assigned to her."

"Endless, eh…" A chuckle left Artemai's lips.

"Is something the matter?" wondered Delilah.

"No, no, not at all. Just a petty thought, no big deal." Artemai sighed with a distraught look, "The Conflict is getting worse…isn't it?"

"Sir?"

"Do you think the League is this desperate to drive the people out of the _Havens_?"

"…It is possible. Their _'World Recovery Plan'_ has made a shocking impact on both the civilian populace and several corporate members of the League: gathering all the surviving populations to be put to working labour in rebuilding the Earth."

Artemai blankly stared at Delilah, in deep thought, "What could those League scumbags be doing? They can't just enslave the people for something like that, even if it is possible to return the world the way it was. I think they've been getting a little too…extreme…"

"Sir."

"Hm-hmm?"

"…You're staring again…"

Artemai snapped awake as he noticed it himself. He faked a cough and leaned back in his thick-padded leather swivel chair, "Sorry, Deli—I mean _Delilah_…Uh…Is there anything else to report?"

"Yes," replied Delilah, her eyes lingering for a second before scanning her papers, "This is still regarding _Algorica_ and their endeavours…Just as they made it out of _Rough Coyote Canyons_ they…stumbled onto something…"

"Yes?" wondered Artemai, "What?" Delilah lifted her gaze, her voice hiding a faint drop of disbelief.

"Them, as well as the escorts, suddenly encountered a large hostile force…"

"_Large_ hostile forces? How much?"

"…Over a 1000, sir."

Artemai wordlessly blinked, "I'm sorry?"

Delilah recomposed her voice, "_Algorica_ detected approximately 1000 enemy units, appearing right before the convoy and escorts. _Algorica_ reported that strange machines appeared from the sky, when they never appeared on radar during that accounted time. These machines resembled neither MT nor any Normals they have said to encounter, and any information they sent to us have turned zero matches in our own databases…They came and attacked without warning."

"From it, what happened to _Algorica_? What did the NEXT escorts say about this?"

"During the whole time, the convoy took shelter back into the canyons to let the NEXTs deal with them…They were able to hear in on the conversation between the escort pilots – all of which are documented in a report they will be faxing over some time soon – and it sounded like they had great difficulty in handling the new enemy."

"…Then what happened?"

"In the midst of the fighting, one transport was able to witness the appearance of a sable NEXT – who it was, I will look into it once the escorts give us their full report. When that NEXT appeared, the convoy was able to acquire the enemy on radar…" Delilah held her tongue for a second, thinking carefully for the following words to come, "The captain of the convoy described it as _'poof, and there they were'_…"

Eyebrows perked up on Artemai, "…_'Poof'_?"

"'_Poof'_…As quoted…"

"…Very intriguing…"

"All the information from the mission reports is still being researched. There are many parts in the recent operation where we have not identified with yet, neither know for sure what had really happened. So far, this is just a preliminary feedback of the convoy's condition," finished Delilah.

She rose to her feet from her seat, taking one step back from Artemai's table. His eyes were glazed over in thought, blankly staring at Delilah again. The secretary said nothing, knowing clearly the look on Artemai's face was not like the previous attempts he made. This was serious and Artemai was to calculate this information as best as he could.

"…If you will excuse me, Mr. Rosenthal, I shall meet with the head of intelligence bureau to find out more of this incident…That is, if you wish to continue to investigate further."

Artemai returned a light nod, almost unaware of Delilah's word but did catch the part of continuing investigations. She gave a light bow and crisply turned on her elegant high-heels. Making her way across the rich dark-blue carpet, her index finger reached for the controls of Artemai's office door. It slid of open with a breath-like whisper.

"Delilah." Artemai's secretary and close assistant stopped right passed the open doors. She turned her body halfway, in both respect and knowing what will happen next, to look at Artemai. A charming grin flashed across his boyishly graceful face, "I have made reservations at very nice restaurant, very close to this building. I heard they have a fabulous set of 1999 Italian Red Wine…care to join me?"

The hiss of a closing door made Artemai wince and his fingers twitched from the soft clunk. He held his posture, alone in his own silent office, but soon cracked a chuckle, "I'll take that as a _no_, then…" He breathed a tired groan and leaned back in his leather chair, blankly staring up at his ancient-white coloured ceiling, "Still playing hard to get, eh Delilah?" A chuckle made his smile grow, "Don't worry, I won't crack that easily…"

A knock echoed inside his lonely office. Artemai bolted in his seat with an expecting gaze. He got off his chair and calmly sauntered over to his office door. With a press of a button, the sound of bolts clunking went off and a digital screen across the controls blared these letters in flashing red: LOCKED.

"_All is well that ends well_…" he said in a certain tone. After a pause, another deeper voice whispered.

"…_Smoke'em if you got'em."_

Artemai chuckled, "…You don't say…"

The whisper echoed back, "Precisely…"

Artemai turned with a grin at his tubes of water and floating fishes, "It's clear, Gascon."

Behind those peculiar fish-tanks, a hidden door in the wall slipped open. At the doorway stood a tall and well-built man, with a confident and elite air over his broad shoulders. His hair was close cut and dark blonde with a two-inch long and pencil thin ponytail dangling over his left sideburns; face was well tanned and carved like rigid stone; the arms he had were thick and so muscular that it could allow him to snap people into kindling with a twitch; and altogether he wore a dress-vest, dress pants, a white and gold dress-shirt, and had a classy red bow-tie around his muscle-laden throat.

"Master Rosenthal," replied the human-giant, Gascon Debrougé*. Artemai strode up to the hulking mass, the top of his head not even reaching the height of the man's collar. Despite the conflicting sizes, Gascon deeply bowed in absolute respect and humility, "How is your health?"

Artemai faked a cough, "Dreadful…if only I can drink red wine in the morn—"

"With all due respect, Master Rosenthal, your doctor clearly instructed you not to have too much alcohol in a single day. Your liver has a lower tolerance level than normal and you must be cautious of your daily diet."

Artemai grimaced, as well as blushed, "The liver thing again, ugh…I guess it's all thanks to inheriting my father's weak one…" He turned and strode back to his desk, a boyish temper following his footsteps, "I know fully well that my…_liver_, is not even close to the same state as my father was and must do everything to prevent it from happening to me…But Gascon, I wish I could have a decent glass of red wine…without having to do all the procedural checkings and what not…"

"Understood…But please take care of yourself whenever I am away, sir," Gascon replied as he stood up to his full height. Any taller, his head could pass the height of the dangling chandelier in Artemai's office; which it did almost clip his skull when he brushed by it.

The CEO of Rosenthal Corporations plopped back down in his chair with a sigh. His arms folded across his stomach and he sat back to get comfortable, "What do we have today?"

"BFF's _Primary Fleet 1_ is advancing through the North Atlantic Sea."

Absolute fear uprooted the quiet Artemai an inch off his seat. In his return, he nearly slipped off his chair but recomposed himself, "B-BFF's _Primary Fleet 1_? The _entire_ fleet?"

Gascon nodded, "As we speak, they are traveling towards the direction of Former Portugal. Battle cruisers, destroyers, missiles boats, dreadnoughts, carriers, all of them. They are primed for immediate combat and are on their way."

"…Ever since their _8__th__ Fleet_ was annihilated, _Primary Fleet 1_ has become the new devastating naval power of BFF. But they have been idle at sea for nearly two years. Why are they forming up in full combat alert now?"

"I was only able to gathered fractions of BFF's plans, but they were enough to fill in the missing gaps of their goals: they plan to assault GA's major mining port and ship-dockyard, the _Coast Quartz Plains_, in former El Jadid, Morocco."

Artemai stood up to his full height, surprise silencing him for a second, "So…BFF are really making the first move…"

Gascon nodded, his face emotionally-controlled, and grimaced, "If they do strike, whether successful or not, they will break the 'peace settings' between the Guild and the League."

"If this happens…no longer will the Conflict be simple skirmished…but a full scaled war…" A breath left Artemai's chilling lips, "And that's what BFF's been trying to stir up these past few years…There's no stopping them now, is there?"

"I am afraid not, Master Rosenthal. They have kept this plan a long secret, even to the leaders of the Guild – which includes yourself. Even my intelligence team couldn't pick up such news until a half an hour ago. What proved our initial theories was when we noticed highly active naval activity from BFF military dockyards in former Manchester, Britain." A solemn look finally cracked through his stone-carve expression, his head lowered, "Forgive me, sir, for not being able to find out sooner." Artemai waved a forgiving hand to Gascon. Despite such a simple gesture, even that made the hulking man release a small sigh.

"Don't be. BFF has an extremely sophisticated chain of command and specialized inter-networking. If you were able to tell me that BFF employees were to hold a bet on something as ludicrous as who will be fired next…I would give you a big round of applause and an extremely handsome bonus to your current salary…But alas, BFF is the toughest nut to crack…even if they are on our side…"

"Understood, sir."

"Anyways, since the division of the League to the Guild there's bound to be a war popping up somewhere in the middle like a plague…we were only postponing the inevitable, my friend. If things would not turn out this ugly, I wished we could have just make whatever peace we can agree on and focus on rebuilding our broken world…the non-League way, of course…"

Artemai's long-time butler and companion returned a soft nod of complete understanding. The CEO turned away and glanced out of his office window. It held behind the majestic panoramic view of pearly silver city, a _Haven_. The entire landscape was fitted to match the air of a massive industrial area, tall factory buildings with lanes of warehouses and storage facilities. Though it was all business-like, there was a cross-bred section of residential and commercial zone. That was where a handful of human civilians lived and thrived as they settle with their life in this subterranean colony, along with the long list of his company's employees. This was also the main headquarters of his wide-spread organization, Rosenthal Corporations. He let out a soft sigh as he adored the splendours of _Haven Jeraikko_.

"It seems that I too must take part in this daring step…in order to keep this war from going out of hands. If I'm not mistaken, BFF will hold an immediate Guild meeting in about two minutes, declare their move as a needed call to arms in battling the League, then finally make Ivan from Interior Union and I from Rosenthal to suck it up and agree to their little attack…Don't you think so too, Gascon…Gascon?" Artemai turned when his butler never answered back. A faint chill crawled down his back.

Gascon had disappeared, the hidden door in the white wall with the fish-tanks also vanished. The man's eyes glanced left and right in his once again lonely office. A shaky grimace crept across Artemai's face.

"I hate it when he does that…"


	8. A Moment of Silence

**All _Armored Core for Answer_ base NEXT models, weapons, and game-original characters belong to gaming company FROM SOFTWARE.**

**Major characters, customized NEXTs, places, and others tagged with '*' are created and owned by _Emerald Sonata_…and the _DIVINE ULTIMATRIUM_. **

* * *

**Armored Core NEVER END  
Mission 08 || [A Moment of Silence]**

"Tell me now, big brother!"

Basher's face went crashing into the surface of the table, a small but deadly hand pressing him down. A grimace ripped across his face as he fought against the force that pinned him down, but it proved futile as he could only grumble under his breath.

"Alright - alright! I'll spill it out! Now, let go of me, Mina!"

Mina pulled away her grip and hauled Basher up, throwing him into a nearby chair. He plopped right into and, as it teetered forward, he recomposed himself into a cool and calm posture as if nothing happened. The Lynx casually brushed at the bruises across his face, wincing from time to time.

He and his sister were inside the bowels of their personal transport, the _Swiss Guard_. It was a massive land-based NEXT carrier, with thick armored hulling, heavily loaded with all sorts of anti-anything guns, and had the capacity to carry a handful of NEXTs on the go. Currently, it now parked within the hangar of _Haven Nazeraith_, next to the group of _Algorica_ transports.

Mina towered over him (even though she was a head and a half shorter than her brother), hands on her hips and cheeks reddened with bottled fury. She cast her older brother a glare that could even make flames disappear out of existence. Basher merely glimpsed away.

"Fine…Me and Xyla were heavily outnumbered by enemy forces, 3:1. We ran low on ammo but put up a good fight. Then back-up came, we kicked the baddies' butts, tried to get the heck out of the rock, but got attacked by more baddies at the exit. In others words, I made it out without much trouble. Satisfied?"

"No!" snapped Mina, "I'm asking you why did you _force me_ to go the other way around than to follow you!"

Basher sat back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head, "Hey, an ambush could've gotten to me and Xyla from any direction. I need 100% focus to keep up with the enemy, without having you screaming junk in my ear!"

"Stop avoiding the question. I really mean it! Why didn't you let me follow when I could've helped?-!"

Basher returned the glare at her, but faltered. For a quick moment, she noticed tears in her glassy eyes. Still, her lethal persona did not change. He let out a long sigh, "I can't take care of my baby sister, if I have to deal with the guys trying to kill me, got it? I thought best we'd split up, so that we aren't both taken out with one stone; or in their case a blasted bazooka round."

Mina scoffed and folded her arms, her tears no longer existing, "That's a laugh. I'm no longer a baby, big brother! And you shouldn't be so reckless! Remember what happened the _last time_ you—"

"**Don't** – **remind me!**" interjected Basher. His sister went silent, remembering something along the way, "You know the reason why I pulled _it_ off. You were with me in _it_ before, remember?" Basher grimaced, "Just don't make _me_ recall it…The very thought sickens me, you got that?-!"

Mina, her flames reduced to a bare flicker, nodded back in complete understanding, "…Sorry…"

Basher waved it off, "Save it…I've got all the trouble I need now. So, pipe down and give me a break. Tch, your screaming's giving me a headache."

Mina turned on him, her cheek puffed in spite.

"DUMMY!" Her foot flew and struck Basher's shin dead on. The Lynx doubled over in sheer agony as he held back the urge to scream. Clasped his stinging injury, he threw a killing look at the culprit. Mina just folded her arms and shot her little tongue out at him. After a haughty 'hmph' she stormed out of the lounge, the door sliding to a close.

Alone, Basher slapped a hand to the table, venting all his frustrations in one go.

"THAT BLASTED BIG BABY…OOOOOOOW!" He let out a tired sigh and released his painful leg. A sound of a door slid opened and he scowled, "I didn't say anything, Mina, now let me get some peace and quiet!" The door closed. He grumbled, ruffled his fiery hair, and leaned way back to stretch his spine.

It just so happened that his head nudged into a soft bare stomach and his arms nearly wrapped around someone's waist. He paused to glance up, meeting a pair of golden-yellow and lifeless-blue eyes passively staring down at him.

"Oh…hey Xyla."

"Here…" With a whisper Xyla held along an ice-bag within her two palms. Basher lifted his head from her stomach to spin about. Plucking it out of her grasp, the Lynx slapped the ice-bag to his forehead.

"Ah…" Now this was more like it. Exhausted, physically and mentally, Basher sagged into his seat, "Thanks, Xyla…I owe you one."

"No need…" Xyla quietly took a seat next to Basher, facing him, and had her pale white and frail hands resting across her lap. Basher dabbed the ice across several of his bruises – compliments from Mina – as he let the chilly feeling clear his rampant thoughts.

"Sorry," Basher said after a long silence, "I got a little tense with you back at the office…with Endless and all…"

"…It's alright…"

"…Don't worry, I'll work on that temper of mine…I promise."

"…Thank you…"

"Heh…" Basher leaned back in his seat. He hissed when a part of the ice-pack touched against a bruise too hard. With a shrug, he changed the topic, "Getting used to hanging out with me and Mina?"

"Yes…"

"Well…that's music to my ears…"

Xyla blinked, "Why is that?"

"Obviously, it's better than that god-forsaken _place_, I'll tell you that…right?"

Xyla paused, lowered her gaze across Basher's bruises, "…Yes."

Basher placed the ice-bag over his eyes, a soft grin brightening, "Glad to know…glad to know."

Suddenly, he felt delicate fingers lightly sweeping through several strands of his burning orange hair. He tilted the bag a bit, to glimpse at Xyla from under his one eye. The girl's expression was blank and unreadable, yet Basher knew fully well what she was thinking. It was a tad bit heart-warming for both him and her.

"Thank you…Basher…"

Basher's grin widened some more and he replace the ice-pack over his eyes again, "Like I said, Xyla, no need. Happy to oblig – ow! Ah Mina, that stupid little sister of mine! She didn't have to pound my eye in for crying out loud!"

[******]

"…I cannot believe you are actually treating that creep for tea and biscuits…"

"Don't be like that, Lulu. Endless saved my life, it's the only way I can repay him. And unfortunately its just tea…this kitchen already ran out of biscuits a long time ago."

Standing inside a cafeteria's kitchen of a military-barrack, Itsumi patiently waited for the hot water to meld with the soaking tea leaves inside a small china teapot. Behind her was Lulu, her lips pursed in absolute distaste and her arms folded. Her leather booted foot tapped impatiently as she eyed the back of Itsumi's shoulders.

"Why do you trust him so much? Haven't I told you about those rumours?-!" she grumbled.

"Personally, I have heard no such thing of Endless or what he did before. I won't believe in such rumours until I confirm them myself…" Itsumi turned to her grouchy field operator with a tender smile, "You should do the same too. And stop picking on Endless, he's already gone through a lot today."

Lulu rolled her eyes. She gave a sarcastic bow, "As you wish, princess."

Itsumi turned back to her readied teapot with a giggle, "You're supposed to curtsy."

Lulu instantly straightened with a scowl. Eventually, she let out her frustration in a single sigh and dipped a bit. Itsumi placed the teapot and three teacups across a metal tray.

"Count me out on your little tea party, Itsumi. I'm going home…" With that Lulu pushed herself off from balancing across a counter and turned for the door. Itsumi was flustered as she watched her leave.

"Y-you're not going to stay and get to know him a little?"

Lulu waved a weary hand over her shoulders, "One day – in the far future. But for now, I need my beauty sleep. Night, lovely…"

The field operator then approached an automatic door, passed through it, and let it seal behind her with a hiss. Itsumi's shoulder sagged as she gave herself a half-grin.

"_Mou~_…Lulu…"

[******]

Endless slightly fidgeted into his seat across the bench, connected to a table in the same mess-hall. Shoulders dropping and posture all shrivelled up, he was prepared to have his roots be ripped apart by what was about to come.

When a single slender hand rested an empty tea-cup before him across the table, he bolted up in his seat.

"I-I-I'm sorry, Miss Freihart, for abandoning you back then! I really didn't mean to—" The back of his knees struck the bolted down bench and he fell sitting back onto it. A tray was hastily planted, freeing a pair of motherly hands to reach out towards a frightened child.

"N-no, no! That's alright, Endless, don't be afraid, I'm…" Itsumi could not help a gulp and shiver, "I'm not as direct as Basher…"

Endless let out a slow and shaky breath, one that he had been holding onto the whole time. By looking into Itsumi's sea-calm eyes, it made his anxiety peel away from his rigid spine. He straightened at full attention, humbly nodding.

"I…understand…" he whispered. Itsumi warmly smiled, as if towards a young child. She grasped onto Endless' cup and filled it with steaming hot green-tinted tea. After she returned it to his side, she filled her own cup with tea and took a seat across from Endless. For a short moment, they only stared at their cups with a timid air.

The atmosphere itself felt like the two were set up on a blind date, now they were meeting for the very first time. That awkward, awkward silence. Gathering her wits, Itsumi wanted to break that invisible wall between them.

"E-er…I want to thank you again for saving me…back at the canyon…" she said, gaze still lowered.

"N-not at all. I-it's my duty to protect humankind from the darkness like the _**Iron Ghost**_s…" replied Endless with equally averting eyes, "I was relieved that I was able to make it in time before…" He trailed off, not knowing what to say next.

Itsumi hesitated as she finally lifted up her gaze, "So…are you really what you call yourself…an Agyle?"

Endless nodded, "Yes…"

"Could you tell me…what is really an Agyle?"

"…An Agyle is a celestial being created by God to protect humanity and the worlds under His domain from darkness. As Basher may have mentioned before, we could be considered a bit like the Lord's Angels…but I wish to disagree."

"…Why do you say that?"

"Angels are too perfect…there's no way we can ever be on equal terms with them…" Itsumi saw a faint grin appearing on Endless' face as he stared at his tea. The dull amethyst eyes under his shocking white bangs glinted a mysterious energy, an energy she was not at all familiar with.

Finding the silence to be uncomfortable again, Itsumi tried to change the topic while she picked up her own tea for a sip.

"A-ah, Endless, where are you from?"

"H-hm?" The boy broke out of his thoughts, his conscious surfacing again, "Pardon me?"

"Y-you know, where were you born and raised in?"

"Oh…The Kingdom of Heaven," Endless smiled.

Itsumi blinked, "…Eh?"

"Like all Agyles, I was born from the Kingdom of Heaven, the Lord's divine sanctuary."

"…Oh…"

"May I ask where are you from, Miss Freihart?"

"…O…Old Tokyo…former Japan."

"That sounds like a wonderful place…" After a pause, the boy started to chuckle to himself, "I feel kind of relieved, actually…"

"Hm? What makes you say that?"

"Because Commander Michael isn't present within our conversation."

"…C…Commander Michael*?"

"Yes, the top commanding officer among the 7 Archangels – the leaders of the Agyles; Michael of the Heaven's Armada. You see, he tends to get really, really angry whenever an Agyle like me tells a human like yourself about who we truly are, since its considered classified information…Usually, he tries to kill us whenever we say the truth."

Itsumi could not help a hard swallow, squeaking, "…K…kill?"

"W-well, he wouldn't personally use the word 'kill', more like: destroy us into absolute oblivion, or so. But so long as Commander Gabriel* and Commander Ariel* are by his side, they'll make sure he won't overdo his punishment unto us by accident."

"…"

"…M-Miss Freihart, is something wrong? You don't look well."

"…No…I'm…fine…"

"Ha-ha, I'm glad." Endless casually took a moment to smell his tea again, leaving Itsumi stunned in her thoughts. On a dare, she asked one last question while they were on the same topic.

"W…why are you telling me this?"

"…I'm sorry?"

"Why are you telling me telling me about you being an Agyle, about where you really came from? I-I know I was too curious for my own good to ask, but you said this was classified information, right? How could you tell me these secrets so easily?"

"Because I trust you, Miss Freihart." Itsumi could not help a short gasp at Endless' response. He did not even think it over when he gave his answer. "To be honest, Agyles cannot lie – they are unable to. So they either tell the truth or not say anything. When they do tell, they only share it to those they trust 100%. Like me to you, I have absolute faith that you will keep our secret within your heart…Also, due to the events that occurred tonight, you deserve to know everything…It's only right."

Itsumi was speechless. The boy was telling him what could possibly be an immensely huge secret – possibly even bigger than simple terms like 'gigantic' or 'enormous'. All because he believed in her; he believed that Itsumi would not utter a word to anyone else. Of course, she was going to keep his secret – as she would for any of her good friends. But was she really worth the risk of spilling such sensitive information like that? She could only wonder…but the gleam in Endless' eyes gave her the answer right off the bat. He was the kind of person to trust someone whole-heartedly, even if they had met for the very first time. Nonetheless, Itsumi felt grateful for his consideration.

"Thank you, Endless…"

"Hm-hm, you're very welcome, Miss Freihart."

The subject ended like that. Itsumi's head was filled with all sorts of thoughts, wanting to ask each and everyone. Too much for her own nerves, she took a moment to sip her tea to calm herself. Still, there was one particular question that kept prodding the girl's mind and she instinctively worded it out.

"Ah…you once mentioned before that…you were the only one…here. Why is that?"

Once again, Endless stopped before he could taste his tea, "Uh…Well, in truth there are a lot of Agyles…"

"How much?"

Endless took a moment to count the fingers of one hand, then answering with, "Possibly over 650 000 and counting, give or take."

"…Oh…"

"Each Agyle has their own set of abilities and power, as well as specific protocols in fighting the darkness," Endless went on. Itsumi did not dare to say a word, half intent in knowing more and half still in disbelief. "I, in particular, am charged in traveling to different worlds that involve mecha warfare – meaning the focus of battles, conflict, and reality revolves around the use of advanced armored-robotic technology. _DeepGrave_ is my Durandel – the soul weapon of an Agyle – and its ability not only includes de-cloaking the _**Iron Ghosts**_, but also taking on the form of the primary mecha system in that world."

"Y…you mean…_D-DeepGrave_ is not really an AC to begin with?"

"That is correct. Currently, it takes on the form of an Armored Core, particularly a NEXT type in this reality. In the other worlds that I have been to, _DeepGrave_ would have to adapt into being a Veritech fighter or even a Gundam Mobile Suit if necessary."

"…V-Veritech? Gundam?"

"…M-my apologies, I think I said too much. Commander Ariel warned me that if I shared _too much_ classified information to a human, specifically about another world they are not aware of…it wouldn't be a good thing as it could possible affect your sanity. Worst case scenario: I would be forced to call one of the Commanders to clear that from your memories. So, Miss Freihart…could you pretend you don't understand what I just said…"

Itsumi nodded, hesitantly, "S-sure…" Then in her heart she went, _'Actually, I don't understand any of this at all…'_. Honestly, there was no need to pretend.

Endless nervously cleared his throat and went on, "Every Agyle is scattered across the various universes, mostly to places where the use of their powers are needed or are allowed. For example myself: I was created to focus on handling mecha warfare related realities, thus my overall abilities and experience in controlling various mecha weaponry is required in worlds like this. As there are very little Agyles who have a similar power…it is the main reason why I am the only one here."

"Just…yourself?" Itsumi uttered, getting worried, "D-don't you get lonely though?"

"…Yes. But as I'm always busy in fighting the darkness, I really don't have the luxury to dwell on such thoughts. As long as I am following my mandate, protecting the children of God, I am content."

…This was all too hard for Itsumi to swallow. Despite listening for this long, her mentality had trouble keeping up with all this new info. Multiple worlds? Different universes? Mecha Warfare? Archangels? …Gundam? Still, no amount of confusion could overcome the painful feeling of knowing he was alone for most of his life.

"…Say, Endless?"

"Yes?"

"H…how old are you?"

"Uh…according to the standard time frame of the 1st Earth…I believe I am 925 years, 10 months, and 14 days old…if I have not miscalculated."

…But he looked like he was 19…

"W…when was the last time you met with another Agyle…"

"Mmm…If I remember correctly, the last Agyle I had contact with was Nexus Brigade*, the Ultimate Agyle…but that was during the first few years of my life. Why do you ask?"

Itsumi went silent. He…had been alone…for _that_ long? It…was terrible. To Endless, it did not seem to bother him at all, but to Itsumi…just knowing that he was fighting on his very own for all this time, felt heart-breaking. Also…she knew that painful feeling of loneliness. As much as she wanted to cry, she held herself back, not wishing to suddenly scare an oblivious Endless.

"Um…Miss Freihart…" Itsumi snapped out of her thoughts, finding Endless blankly staring at his cup of tea. Come to think of it, not only has Endless not at all tasted the tea, but he had been looking at it weirdly – as if it were the first time in seeing something like this. "May I ask…What is this?" Deduction – spot on.

"Hm? O-oh, this is Japanese green tea. It's a special brew my mother taught me a long time ago when I was very young…" Endless paused before he held out a hand to it. He lifted it off the table and closely examined the content with silent interest. "Never heard of such tea, have you?"

"I-it's not that. I have heard of green tea before, it's just that…I've never had the opportunity to try it."

"I guess that's not surprising. Ever since the National Dismantlement War, various things have changed and commercial trading has become scarce. Now, the companies focus only on making more powerful war technology to best one another…"

"That is true…" replied Endless. Finally, the boy drank the tea…and he was surprised, "I-it's…it's delicious! N-not only that, but it also has a very soothing aroma. It's wonderful."

"Thank you so much," Itsumi giggled, "That's why I really love this tea and will try my very best to preserve my mother's tea-making traditions. Still, I wish it was easier to buy more, I only have a handful left…"

"Then…this is from your own supplies?"

"Uh, yes. B-but you don't have to be discouraged, Endless. I only share this on certain occasions or with a very close friend, like my operator Lulu," Itsumi stopped herself, only to glance aside with a gloomy aura, "it's too bad she finds it bland and boring, however…"

"Does this mean…I'm a very close friend of yours as well?"

Itsumi was caught completely off guard. The question sounded like there was something behind it, but the way Endless looked and sounded felt like he just wanted to know for knowledge sakes – to get the facts…or was it something more? The girl still sensed a bit of hesitation from him, in whether or not this boy alone could be seen as a friend at all. Possibly, due to his bad reputation in the Lynx community, it was difficult to find someone who would not judge him by his faults. Maybe that was why…she could see a speck of fear hiding in his eyes.

"…Though we've only met for one mission, Endless…you saved my life. Whether or not you told me who you really are…it's more than enough reason to trust you…as a very close friend."

It took a while before the full answer could sink into Endless. When his mind finally understood the true meaning behind it…he was shocked. Even his hands were shaking, as well as his shoulder. However, no matter how stunned the boy was…he was able to manage a smile of absolute gratitude towards the girl.

Accepting it, Itsumi grinned back.

"Endless, I—EEK!"

"…E…eek?"

Itsumi was dead still, her face turning whiter by the second. Endless blinked at her, having no clue what was going on. Slowly, ever just so slowly, the girl glanced down at her ankles.

A big rat was nibbling at the laces of her shoe as if a chew toy.

"…A…a…a…a…"

"…Ah?"

"…_NE'ZUMI~!_"

Before Endless realized it, a blur whipped right past him. It was shortly followed by a gale of wind, which struck the boy dead in the face. The blur kept zipping, bouncing off one table and onto another without stop. When the whole cyclone died away, the boy quizzically turned around with a stunned blink.

At the very, very, very far corner of the mess hall…was Itsumi balled up to her knees across a large crate – three times bigger than her own body.

"…Miss Freihart?"

"_NE'ZUMI!_ _NE'ZUMI!_ _NE'ZUMI~!_"

"…Hah?"

Though at the very, very, very far corner, Itsumi's scream could be heard all the way over to where Endless was – about quarter of a mile in distance. She was screeching on in a foreign language, one that the boy seemed to recognize but could not understand her completely. It was Japanese.

He guessed that…the girl would start talking in such language whenever she is under duress…or in this case facing a rodent.

Out of all her wailing, all he could translate was: 'QUICK!', 'GET RID OF IT!', and 'IT'S GOING TO KILL ME~!' – And no, that was not a mistranslation. The one word that recurred the most was _Ne'zumi_, which he deduced to be 'rat' in English.

The said creature climbed its way up to crawl across the table, taking a curious moment to drink a bit from one of the tea cups.

"Um, excuse me." The rat stopped its drinking, perking its head up. Quietly, it turned to Endless who waited patiently for its response. "Er…I do not wish to be rude or anything…but I suggest you leave at once. My friend has a strong phobia for rats and she'll only get more uncomfortable should you linger here."

Not getting it, the rat tilted his head. Endless scratched his cheek, trying to think of an alternative approach.

"…Uh…_Boo_…Please?"

Finding this particular person to be too strange, the rat gave up and leapt off the table. Eventually, it scampered away across the cold floor and disappeared down a crack in a nearby wall. The boy let out a sigh, knowing the problem has been solved without casualty – somewhat.

Itsumi was still a human-ball. Hands covering her delicate head, she would not stop shivering and muttering in Japanese to herself, praying that the rat would not come near her at all.

…_***Tap* - *Tap***_

"IYAAAAAAAAAAA~AAAAAAAAAH!"

"W-w-w-w-wait, Miss Freihart! I-I'm not a rat! It's me: Endless Evarg!"

Itsumi snapped out of her self-induced nightmare. Lifting her shielding arms, she could see Endless calmly standing next to her at the corner.

"It's gone…the rat, I meant."

"R…really?" the girl uttered, her English returning. All Endless did was nod, and Itsumi burst a huge sigh of relief. A familiar tea cup with still-warm green tea was held out to her, courtesy of the boy

"Here…I hope this helps to calm you down…"

"…Th…thank you…" Grateful, Itsumi accepted it and began to drink it to soothe her nerves.

The tea that the rat had drank a moment ago…was Itsumi's – but he had already carefully disposed of it. Not aware of the meaning behind drinking someone else's tea – especially that of the opposite gender – Endless innocently watched Itsumi return to her normal self.

"…Do you feel better?" the boy asked. Itsumi could only nod. A gentle hand was held out to her, gesturing for her to take it. "Let me help you down…"

The girl found herself still curled up across the crate in the corner, her cheeks burning pink again. With flustered hesitation, the girl reached out her fingers to touch the heart of the boy's palm.

…_***Blip-Blip* - *Blip-Blip* - *Blip-Blip*~**_

The touch never completed, with the fingers suddenly retracting. Both Itsumi and Endless jumped at the sudden electronic chirping that echoed all over the mess-hall. A blinking red-light caught the girl's eye, and she found it to be coming from her wrist-watch. A thought finally clicked into her mind.

"A…another mission?" she wondered.

Endless dropped his hand to his side and too was interested in the tiny calling, "I wonder what is it?"

Itsumi raised a finger to press the button, but stopped to glance at Endless, "Would…would you like it if I viewed it with you?"

Silence lingered between them as they stared at each other in the eye. Finally, Endless nodded with a chuckle.

"Of course."

Itsumi smiled, then she pressed the button to project a series of holographic displays. They blurred out and focused to play a pre-recorded video-log.

**[##INTERIOR UNION##]  
****Sent to:**** Streamgard Lynx, **_**Violet Rose**_**.**  
**Subject:**** BFF Primary Fleet 1**  
**Client:**** Interior Union**  
**Mission Parameters:**** …**

'_Here is the mission briefing. You are to rendezvous with BFF's Primary Fleet 1, an armada of heavily armed naval warships that are traveling through the Mediterranean Seas. Their objective is to assault GA America's major mining depot and naval dockyards, the port of _Coast Quartz Plains_ in former El Jadid, Morocco._

_When you meet up with them, you are to assist in their operation in taking over the port. Once the operation is underway, your primary objective is to safeguard several key ships among the fleet and eliminate any opposing forces that threaten the safety of them. The port may not be a fully detailed naval base, but expect heavy resistance of Normals and possibly several other kinds of armed vessels that are on site._

_Briefing over. The result of this attack will begin a new course for our future and possibly the beginning of open conflict. If you accept this mission, the Guild will be able to advance forward and become closer to their goals in re-establishing Human Rights and the freedom of the people in the _Havens_. We hope you can take this on.'_

**[##END TRANSMISSION##]**

"I…I can't believe it…" breathed Itsumi. Endless glimpsed at her from the corner of his dull violet eyes, who began to have a pale face, "The Conflict has already done enough damage to the people trapped in the _Havens_…but now they're going to start another full-scale war? With the League even?-! This…this can't be happening…"

Endless felt an uneasy feeling resting on his shoulders, and it was coming straight from a crestfallen Itsumi. It was true, ever since several key companies broke away from the League, forming the Guild, it had significant impact on the surviving economy, as well as people trying to hide from the League due to their insane ideals. Truly, this was hard for her to accept all of a sudden.

"…Do you not wish to accept this mission?" Endless wondered in a soft voice.

Itsumi shook her head, "It's not that, Endless. I am more than willing to take on any mission if it means I could make a difference for everyone here in _Nazeraith_, to protect them…but I just can't bring myself to take part in a senseless war between corporations and their politics…"

"…I see. Then, would you like me to accept the assignment in your stead?"

"H-heh?-!" Itsumi thought she had heard wrong, even hoping it was just her imagination. Unfortunately, the strong look in Endless' eyes said otherwise, "Wh-what are you talking about?"

"I truly believe that fighting will solve nothing…but from what I have experienced in my time, realities never seem to agree." Itsumi fell silent as Endless took in a deep breath, "Conflict seems to have become a natural law amongst the worlds I have been to. It has its own benefits and its downfalls, prizes and casualty…but if the right kind of people don't take part in the fight, to balance that chaos…many innocent lives would be lost. I won't let that happen."

Endless helped to bring Itsumi back down to the ground from the tall crate, even brushing off patches of dust from the girl's shoulders.

"To protect people from darkness, like the fires of war, is what I was born to do…It is what I want to do. If you do not feel comfortable in taking part in this mission, I am willing to take your place, Miss Freihart."

"…N…no."

Now it was Endless' turn to stare at Itsumi, who began to regain her full composure.

"I…I can't do that, Endless. I can't just push all of my burden, all of my responsibilities as a Lynx unto you, it wouldn't be right. To protect people from the war…to make a brighter tomorrow for them all…I want to do that too." Itsumi took in a deep breathe, faced Endless head on, and made her final decision. "If defeating the League can achieve all of that…then I will take on the mission and join the BFF in attacking GA America. I want to help in rebuilding our world, back to the way it used to be before the National Dismantlement War, before all of this. I…want the world I never had the chance to grow up in to return…" A hand folded over the girl's heart, clenching into a determined fist, "For my sakes…for the sakes of everyone here in _Nazeraith_…I will make it come true"

"Hm-hm-hm. I'm glad to hear that. Then in this case, why don't I come along as well?" Before Itsumi could answer, another electronic chirping went off. The young man turned to Itsumi's watch, but it was not blinking. Her eyes were on his watch instead, which he finally noticed. A sheepish grin etched on his face as he surveyed the opening holographs. His face straightened, "What a coincidence."

"What is it?"

Endless twisted his arm around to reveal the contents of his holograph; another mission briefing with the same subject, only from _Rosenthal_, "It seems we'll be partners again."

Itsumi giggled whole-heartedly, "I'm looking forward to it, Endless."

Endless returned a nod, "Please do not worry. This time, I promise I will not abandon you like before, Miss Freihart."

"…Itsumi…" Endless was surprised, as Itsumi gave a cute smile, "Itsumi is just fine."

The boy was definitely speechless, his cheeks tingeing red a bit. Nonetheless, he returned the kind gesture with an energetic chuckle and bowed his head in respect.

"Thank you, Miss Frei—Uh, I mean…Itsumi."


End file.
